Nataly
by Thunder Of Friendship
Summary: A girl that finds herself alone. What will happen to her after her parent's death? Will she finally find happiness and friends? Or will she stay the prisoner of her own self?
1. Chapter 1

Thunder: This is my first fanfic, I hope you all enjoy!

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**Chapter 01**

**A Night's Scream**

It was a dark night, a night in which no one could hear an owl hoot or a cricket chirp.

In a far, far away forest, was a tiny house, more of a room standing alone in the middle of the dense forest.

The forest was thought to be cursed, therefore it was left alone, and thus no one could hear even the loudest sound that came from within.

The fact that anyone who was foolish enough to enter the forest but never came back kept the people even farther away from it, and thus no one knew what lies beyond it's dense trees.

There were people who took advantage of the forest's isolation and chose it as their own hideout.

Near the tiny room you could hear the painful cries and screams of an unfortunate family.

If you go nearer you could see a man being whipped and a woman and a girl being held by two huge muscular men.

The young girl seemed to be of only five to six years old, with black short careé cut hair with matching dark black eyes, she was wearing a silver bracelet that had a sphere and a guitar attached on parallel sides of the silver chain and a nice colorful dress in a square pattern.

The mother had long black hair that went up to her waist, her eyes were jade green, she wore a beige half sleeved T-shirt and long dark blue jeans.

The father had brown hair and dark black eyes, his clothes were ripped and there were some stains of blood, but it seemed like he wore a nice white T-shirt and black pants.

Apparently they were going out somewhere before they got caught by this gang.

The gang was formed of three muscular men and the leader, a rather short person with a long nose, he was round and fat, and looked very rich, probably from the money and jewelry he steals.

Both the mother and daughter helplessly watched the torture of the father, for they were each held by one of the men.

Tears rolled down their red cheeks, their eyes then went wide as the leader started a fire! He ordered the third thug to tie the man's arms and legs, and so he did. The mother started to shiver in the hands of her capturer; she knew what was coming next! And as she thought, the leader ordered the ruffian to throw the man into the high blazing fire!

"Arroniero!" screamed the woman and continued trying to free herself with much harder effort! The girl stayed paralyzed by the scene in front of her and couldn't move at all, not that she could.

The leader watched joyfully with a wicked smile as the flames started to feed on Arroniero's flesh!

The man addressed was screaming in pain as the flames engulfed him, the iron chains kept him from escaping the ruthless fire; it wasn't long before nothing was left but ash.

"Dad ...?" the girl whispered as she finally found her voice.

"Dad!" she finally screamed, trying to break free, more tears rolling down her cheeks

After the flames died down completely the leader turned to face the remaining two with a wicked smile filled with malice.

"Now it's your turn!" he said looking at the woman, his voice was so filled with malice that it made the girl shiver from the inside and the mother to freeze in terror!

He gestured for the thug who held her to push her closer to him. The thug did as he was ordered and pushed her until she was only mere centimeters away! The leader was about to start whatever he was planning when the girl started to scream…

"NO! Don't touch her! Mom, don't let him do that!" she screamed threateningly.

He didn't seem to bother listening to her and reached for the woman and threw her to the ground.

"NO! Leave her alone you big fat ugly monster!" she yelled angrily and stomped on the thug's foot so he would let her go, it worked! She ran towards her mother and knelt beside her, forgetting all about the people who filled the room.

"Are you okay Mom?" she asked her concerned voice matched her worried and scared expression.

The mother looked up, only to witness her daughter receiving a really hard kick in the stomach, sending the girl straight to the ground!

The kick was too much for her to put up with, nonetheless she slowly stood up while moaning in pain. She didn't notice the leader coming closer to her!

The mother immediately stood up only to get yanked backwards by a pair of hands!

One covered her mouth and the other pinned her arms to her sides, she tried to break free but to no avail, the man was overpowering her!

The other two came from behind the girl and pinned her to the ground, evil grins covered their faces, for they knew what was coming next!

"So you say I'm a monster kid, huh? Just wait till you see this!" with a voice as evil and filled with malice as can be and a smile so wicked, he pulled out his weapon!

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Thunder: Well I hope you liked it! Chapter two will be up by tommorow.  
Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Thunder: Ok, this chapter is a little harsh, so don't be surprised! Well, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

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**Chapter 02**

**Nightly Pursuer**

**"So you say I'm a monster kid, huh? Just wait till you see this!" said the leader in a voice filled with malice and a smile as wicked as can be, as he pulled out his weapon, **_**a knife**_**.**

The girl tried to escape the two men's grasps as hard as she could but she didn't move an inch!

The leader came closer and knelt beside the girl and instantly stabbed her in the back!

The burning pain burst in her body like a volcano as he kept dragging the knife all around her back, so that it looked like a pirate's skull head!

The girl screamed in pain, she kept trying to free herself but she was overpowered by the huge men.

The mother finally broke free from the thug's grip with a lot of effort, she didn't waste any time and quickly blew away all that surrounded her daughter with a huge gust of wind that was produced by her over soul, it's medium were two old looking fans!

The over soul appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye! She quickly rushed to her daughter. The girl was breathing in deep gasps of air; the back of her dress was all ripped and covered with still forming stains of blood. Even when she was released she was barely able to move, when her mother came by her side she was shivering in pain and blood kept oozing out of the deep wounds!

The mother grimaced as she saw the wound on her daughter and gently lifted her into a light hug. The girl seemed to calm down a bit, until a hand suddenly pulled the mother from her hair away from the girl, who was also captured; a man was holding her wrists together lifting her up that way.

"That's it! I've had it with your constant interference! You're all dead!" exclaimed the leader and stabbed the woman in her shoulder as another man was holding her in a sitting position. Soon he started to detach every muscle from its bone, the woman kept screaming in pain, the girl couldn't lift her gaze elsewhere for her eyes were wide with terror! The scene kept going until the body became a lifeless skeleton; the final step was to pull the panting woman's head off!

That was it. The night's events awoke the girl's sleeping power to its full extents. With a scream as painful as can be, a blinding light emitted from the girl's wrist and filled the room! When she opened her eyes the only things around her were four piles of bone.

"What happened…? H-how did this happen?" she thought to herself as she slowly staggered to her feet, fear began to overcome her and she ran towards the forest as fast as she could.

Not seconds after, she heard running footsteps behind her!

"Who could it be?" she thought to herself, a twinge of fear welled up inside her as she started to run a bit faster, but only heard the footsteps come closer!

She abruptly turned around to face her followers, but all she met were three rocks on the head! The impact made her fall down on the ground; she gasped as her back hit the ground, but still managed to stand up when she heard the boy's statement…

"We saw what you did!" He accused.

"You saw me…do what?" She stammered, her expression was filled with confusion, her voice filled with fear.

"Don't play dumb!" snapped another boy.

"You're a demon! Only demons can do stuff like that!" accused another.

It was only then that she noticed there were actually three boys, all looked to be in her age.

"H-huh?" She gulped and slowly took a step back. Each boy then reached for and grabbed a rock.

She abruptly turned around and ran away in fear, but they were gaining speed faster than she did. One of them threw another rock and it hit her back, she let out a painful cry and then suddenly something took over her, it was anger! She turned around and automatically raised her left hand towards them, the silver bracelet she wore, the one her mother gave her on her birthday a few days ago, emitted a blinding light which was accompanied by fearful screams, when the light finally faded away all that was left were three piles of bone.

The girl fell to her knees, still recovering from the bright light. She rubbed her eyes and blinked; the boys were gone and instead were piles of bone.

"I did that?" she slowly said after a couple of minutes as realization dawned upon her.

"Is that what they meant? A-am I really a demon?" She was starting to panic with tremble and fear filling her body, teardrops forming at the edge of her eyes.

"I- I didn't see what happened in that room! I had my eyes closed!" She sobbed.

"I…really am a demon!" she sobbed out as tears fell from her cheeks.

She started to run, trying to convince herself that it was just a nightmare and she would soon wake up, she kept running.

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"They have to be somewhere!" A young woman huffed as she ran through the forest.

"Such screams can't be from my imagination!" She said to herself.

A few more meters ahead she encountered a very small house. She carefully came closer, walking against the wall in case someone's inside, she cautiously took a peek through the door.

"Everyone's dead…..! But the blood trail must lead to someone!" She thought as she saw the trail of splattered blood going into the forest.

"Someone is hurt out there…..and they're gonna need my help!" She declared in determination, and started quickly following the trail of blood stained grass.

After running for a short while she stopped by another pile of bones.

"Okay, now I'm eager to know how whoever did that…did that!" She looked at the bones amazed.

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The girl, now tired and exhausted, walked past another pile of bone, this time a panther wanted to eat her so she had to do something!

She was walking slowly now, running was too much effort due to all the blood loss and power she had lost up-till now. She leaned on a tree trunk panting heavily, she was getting dizzy, her vision was getting blurry and she fell.

Just before she hit the ground a pair of hands suddenly grabbed her from her waist!

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Thunder: Well, that's chapter two! Chapter three will be out in a few days.

Sorry if it sounds depressing or anything.

I hope you enjoy reading this story.


	3. Chapter 3

Thunder: In this chapter things start to get a tiny bit brighter for our little girl.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

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**Chapter 03**

**A Trustworthy Friend**

**She leaned on a tree trunk panting heavily, she was getting dizzy, her vision was getting blurry and she fell.**

**Just before she hit the ground a pair of hands suddenly grabbed her from her waist!**

The sudden touch made her jolt up with a gasp back to full consciousness, she quickly turned around and her bracelet shone, but not as bright as before, and she closed her eyes firmly, as she pushed away whoever grabbed her using her left hand.

The hand touched that person's shoulder and just like before it turned to bone, only this time only the area which the hand touched had turned to bone, nonetheless it didn't matter, the attack did its effect and the person let her go with a yelp.

It was the young woman who was trailing the blood! She saw the girl from afar and ran to help her. The girl instantly stood up and ran away as fast as her tired legs could go. The woman was startled for a moment, but she quickly forgot about the throbbing pain in her shoulder and ran after the girl.

_"Why was the light not as blinding as before? Why did her shoulder turn to bone and not all of her? What does that mean? What does she want from me anyway? I-I don't understand a thing!" _All these thoughts dwelled in her mind until she bumped into something really strange.

"Hello!" said a deep, cheerful, husky voice. The voice startled the girl and she took a quick step back but fell on her bottom instead.

"W-what? Who?" she stammered as she looked around but saw no one around.

When she looked up she screamed, for what she saw was a creepy looking, hovering skeleton wearing only a black robe that was ripped on the edges so that the only things that were visible were his skull and bony hands, despite his lack of eye balls he had a very cheerful looking expression on his bony face.

The girl was confused, should she scream and run away from the weird looking creature, or should she feel safe before his kind looking smile?

"You my friend!" he finally said.

"Friend?" the girl was confused.

"Yes. I bone….You bone." He said amused.

"Huh?" asked the girl, after a minute, now more confused than ever.

"I bone, I make people turn bone." He explained.

"You human, but you turn people bone too!" he said as he started to dance around himself happily, then stopped abruptly and pointed to a far away pile of bone.

"Friends nice!" he added excitedly.

"Well, what's your name?" asked the girl softly as a smile curved her little lips, after seeing that there was at least someone who wasn't afraid of her strange powers.

"Sun. You what name?" he asked as he danced around. She couldn't help but laugh at his weird way of talking, let aside his arms swinging around as he danced and she burst into laughter.

"My name is Nataly." She managed between giggles as she finally calmed down.

"And my name is Abashira." a feminine voice said from behind Nataly. Nataly quickly turned around startled.

"Don't worry I'm Sun's friend too, we're here to help you." She assured.

Nataly stared at her with a blank expression; the woman had bright brown eyes that went along with her even brighter brown hair which was tied into a nice ponytail, she wore a green half sleeved T-shirt with long bright blue jeans.

She also noticed the silver bracelet when the woman crouched down to lift her up; it was decorated with black gemstones. It was a bracelet made of only elliptical shaped chains, the gemstones were arranged so that one chain was empty and the next would hold a dark black gemstone.

Her gaze then shifted to the bare shoulder, once Abashira tried to lift her she instantly hissed in pain, clearly the shoulder hurt. _"I'm so sorry. I wish I could turn it back."_ She thought as she reached to touch it, and to both their surprise Nataly's bracelet shone, once the bright light faded away Abashira's shoulder was back to normal!

Abashira stood up and moved her shoulder in all directions, while Nataly could only rub her eyes and stare.

"It's as good as new!" she exclaimed. "How did you do that?" she asked as she crouched in front of her. Nataly's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out as she slowly moved her head from side to side.

Abashira just shrugged it off and lifted Nataly up, careful not to hurt her back. Nataly felt a sense of comfort overwhelm her and relaxed in Abashira's arms.

But this feeling didn't last long for a voice filled with malice sounded from between the bushes and startled them.

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Thunder: I know, I know the names are all made up and they're not even written correctly, but that's how I want them to be, but they will change after a chapter or two.

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Thunder: Chapter 04! Things get twisted but it's a minor thing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

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**Chapter 04**

**Emergency! Threat Comes Closer!**

**Nataly felt a sense of comfort overwhelm her and relaxed in Abashira's arms.**

**But this feeling didn't last long for a voice filled with malice sounded from between the bushes and startled them.**

"So it was you, wasn't it? Interesting ability you have there." Said a short man as he came out of the bushes.

Nataly's eyes grew wide with horror for the man looked exactly like the one who killed her parents. Fear began to well up inside her, she felt the urge to scream but she couldn't even open her mouth. As for Abashira, she noticed another man coming from behind a tree to her left and turned around to face him but as she did another man came from behind her and grabbed her tightly, finally another popped out of the bushes and snatched the girl away.

Next thing they new, they were being dragged to a near place which looked exactly like the one Nataly was just in, except this one had a small prison-like closet, it's walls were made of glass.

Abashira was thrown into that closet while Nataly was pinned down on a small table in the other corner.

The man came closer to that table and Nataly began to shiver inwardly as her body stiffened.

_"I'm sure he's dead, I know he's dead! There's no way he's still here." _She started to panic, but as she looked closer….

_"No… something's different. I don't know how, but he's not the same guy."_ She thought to herself.

"Hey, let me out!" yelled Abashira from behind the glass, she was burning with rage, as she noticed her powers had started to slowly fade away ever since she entered the closet, she wanted answers.

The man simply ignored her, and stood right beside Nataly and looked at the wound on her back, as if wondering what it was.

Nataly kept trying to wriggle herself out of the two men's grasps but to no avail.

"You have very weird powers young girl." He finally said. Nataly felt as if a thousand weights were thrown on top of her, she could hardly breathe as he spoke these words.

"Yes, there's no way brother would have survived." He mused. _"Brother?"_ the word rang in both Nataly and Abashira's mind.

"He never listens to me; I thought I told him to be careful when abusing people with over natural powers." He sighed.

"I myself got me this power sucking machine." He pointed to his back where the glass closet stood.

_"So that's what this thing does!"_ thought Abashira as she took a good look around the glass walls _"There!"_ she noticed a small crack in the glass. _"All I have to do is to get this thing to break."_ She whispered although no one could hear her because of the glass, and she started to kick the crack continuously.

By then the man/leader had already remembered what the mark on Nataly's back was, apparently it was their childhood symbol. Nataly started to scream and wriggle even harder as she saw the knife coming out of his pocket, she didn't want to experience the same pain twice in one night.

She felt a bit relived, the wound's area was numbed with pain that the knife's stab felt almost like nothing compared to the first one, though the pain was still unbearable _"Mom, Dad, please help me!"_ she screamed in her head, Abashira on the other hand was losing power even faster, she was breathing heavily and sweating, but kept kicking nonetheless.

"Now our diagram is finished brother, I couldn't find a more suitable way to avenge you but this, and now for the final stab, be prepared little one." Warned the man in a mocking way, but then he stopped abruptly and averted his gaze to her left arm.

"It's your power isn't it? It glows whenever you use that power of yours." He then grabbed it and attempted to break it, Nataly screamed as loud as her lungs could, tears rolling down her cheeks, the pain was too much, the bone almost cracked until a wretched shriek filled the room followed by a suffocating atmosphere.

Nataly felt the weight on her limbs go away, and she opened her eyes to see that Abashira was standing there with a huge bony scythe with a bone blade in her hand, but what made Nataly wonder was why the bones were so brown. It didn't matter, everyone died in a swing of the great scythe. Nataly felt two hands carry her out of the miserable place back into the forest. The soothing humid air of the forest quickly put her to sleep.

Abashira ran to the closest hospital in site, Natalys blood was oozing out nonstop down her back.

Soon they reached their destination.

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Thunder: I hope you all enjoyed it. Next chapter will be a little more interesting.

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Thunder: This chapter has some new characters so I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

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**Chapter 05**

**Hospital Visit**

**Abashira ran to the closest hospital in site, Nataly's blood was oozing out nonstop down her back.**

**Soon they reached their destination.**

The hospital seemed empty, as if no one had stepped foot in it for years, the smell of dust mixed with the different smells of medicine made Abashira's nose twitch until she sneezed.

A nurse at the receptionist desk saw her and gestured for her to come to the desk. She then noticed the child's wound and she gasped, she gestured for Abashira to follow her and they quickly paced through the lonely hall ways until they stopped in front of a dark colored wooden door with a white sign that said "Dr. Arisawa", Abashira was confused, the door looked completely different from all the others, and there was a weird sensation once she stood there, it made her body go tense.

"This is our best doctor's office, he specializes in everything, and I'll leave you to him." She said in a rush and quickly opened the door for her and walked down the hall in a rather nervous way, thought Abashira as she went inside.

The room was painted with the same dark brown as the door; it was well lit and the desk was very well organized, there was a bookcase standing behind the desk, it held many books of all colors and sizes, there were several medical equipment lying in the other corner of the room beside a small bed, there were two nice benches each was positioned against a wall with black cushions and dark brown wooden legs for people to sit on, there were some pictures hanging on the wall, on the desk was a small photo frame with a picture of a normal looking family, a mother, a father, and they're both holding a small baby.

The doctor was sitting on a chair behind the desk; he had short bright yellow and slightly ruffled up hair, he had light green eyes, and he wore the usual clothes for a doctor, he was looking at the picture on the desk, Abashira noticed the longing in his eyes.

When he looked up to see what sort of visitors he got, he saw the blood stained girl, and immediately stood up and took the girl from the woman's arms and lied her down on the bed, then he carefully placed the breathing mask on Nataly's mouth, once he made sure that the girl was breathing properly he heaved a small sigh and turned to the woman. The whole thing went so fast that Abashira was a little stunned.

"Sorry if that was too fast, my name is Dr. Adam Arisawa." He said casually holding out his hand with a kind smile, the sad longing expression had vanished without a trace from his face, and Abashira took it after shaking off her tension.

"N-nice to meet you, I'm Abashira Sosuke." she replied with an equally kind smile and shook his hand.

"Take a seat." He offered gesturing to a stool next to the left side of the bed. She went and sat there.

"Get ready my little assistant." He said with a happy smile. Abashira wondered who he was talking to.

"I'm not little!" retorted a small voice. She looked from behind the tall man to see a walking yellow bush! After the bush reached the side of the bed a head popped out.

"I know you're not." Chuckled the doctor and started on his work.

Abashira watched in amazement as the doctor started to clean off the spilling blood carefully, a turquoise light emitted from his palms as he placed them over the wound and it started to heal. After stopping the blood he started to add disinfectant all over it, Nataly squirmed slightly once it touched her back, Abashira watched in wonder as the small boy handed the doctor the bandages and everything he needed. The work was soon done with a huge sigh of relief.

"This is my assistant, Yura Arisawa, otherwise known as my son, and he's seven years old." He introduced as he placed a hand over the boy's shoulder, a very proud look on his face.

"Nice to meet you." He said grinning sheepishly.

Yura had dark yellow ruffled up hair; his eyes were a crystal clear pond of blue, he wore a white halve sleeved shirt and white shorts that went to his knees.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Abashira. Thanks a lot for helping Nataly." She replied softly, Yura blushed.

"She has a broken bone." He said simply as he saw his father checking her up for minor injuries.

"True, but you need to look closer, it's only cracked but not fully broken, however it will break if I move it in any wrong way." Said the doctor as he started to treat it in full caution. Abashira was amazed at the boy's good observation skills, aside from the two's knowledge.

After he finished treating every wound/injury on her back he called for his assistant to help him keep her up-right so he can finish his check up, Yura quickly went and got himself a tiny step stool so he could be in the proper height.

"I can help if you want." Said Abashira feeling a little left out.

"No, no! You sit and relax while we do our work." Yura answered her back as he went up the two small steps.

Abashira felt like she was useless, she wanted to help but she couldn't argue with that, so the only thing left for her to do was to watch their work.

"Owwww, my stomach." Moaned Nataly in a voice lower than a whisper. Yura was the only one who heard her for he was the closest to her, and he immediately told his father, who started to heal her with the same turquoise light as before.

"Would you like some tea?" he asked as soon as he was done. Abashira slowly nodded, and he went to make them some.

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Thunder: I hope you liked this chapter; the next one will be out as soon as possible.

Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Thunder: Some light will be shed in this chapter, I hope everyone likes it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

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**Chapter 06**

**Explanation Part One**

**"Would you like some tea?" asked the doctor as soon as he was done. Abashira slowly nodded, and he went to make them some.**

"So, you're a shaman?" she asked in a weird surprised tone as she took a sip of her tea, the night's events began to fall like rain upon her, and her mind was as crowded as can be with different questions to the point that she couldn't even understand the most simplest thing.

"Yes, I hope you don't mind, many people hate shamans or don't even know what the word means." He sighed as he put his cup down, it sounded like it happened a lot to him in Abashira's opinion. They were each sitting on opposite sides of the desk.

"No, no! I'm a shaman too; I know what it feels like. That's the only reason I live in the forest." She reassured. The doctor raised an eyebrow.

"You live in the forest? This forest?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, why?" was her only reply.

"You live in it, and you ask me _"why?"_ you mean to tell me you really don't know?" he counter asked in a half mocking, half shocked voice. She just frowned a confused frown and shook her head. The doctor stared at her for a moment still surprised by the fact she had just given him, he sighed and thought of a way to clarify all this mess, starting from the forest's curse, he took a deep breath and then he began.

"You know why our hospital is at the outskirts of the city and right at the start of this forest, right?" he asked.

"Really!" she nearly yelled in surprise. "I didn't notice!" The doctor smacked his forehead.

"What?" I was running around with a bleeding child in my arms and you expect me to look at the scenery? I merely busted in!" she defended.

"Alright, alright, calm down, I'm sorry. Yes, you're right. But you have to go to the city once in a while, you must've at least noticed a tall building, right?" he asked.

"Well, I actually have a daily job at the city's greatest restaurant. But, now that you mention it…no I've never seen this place before." She said, Yura was listening to the whole conversation with amusement as he sat beside the bed Nataly lay on.

"No wonder why." He murmured to himself then cleared his throat.

"Anyway, the answer for my question is the same reason as to why Nataly's here." he stated puzzling Abashira even more. He paused for a moment, taking in Abashira's expressionless face; still a twinge of anxiety could be recognized, he sighed and started to look around frantically as if trying to shake something off his mind violently, he looked worried.

He then noticed the worried looks he's been receiving from both Abashira and Yura, so he calmed himself and took a sip of his tea.

"So why don't you start? Why not tell us why Nataly's here in the first place?" he asked almost like he wanted to change the subject. Abashira didn't dare to argue, not with the tone he said it with so she told them everything that's happened from the moment she heard the screams till she arrived at the hospital.

"I see." Said the doctor as she finished, taking one last sip of his tea.

"So after you finally found her you were captured by a rich looking short man?" she nodded.

"And he kept talking about a brother of his?" she gave another nod.

"The brother is supposedly killed by Nataly?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Okay, I think I know who they were."

"You do?" she asked surprised.

"They call themselves the "M" brothers, Miro and Mori." "They're professionals, they've only made one public appearance to introduce themselves, they ran away with their gangs never to be seen again, no one was able to spot them but their masterpieces did show up, always in front of this forest." He empathized on the last sentence. Abashira's expression showed that she understood.

"So…you're saying that I, we….." she slowly said pointing at herself, the doctor nodded.

"You killed one, and Nataly presumably killed the other." He finished.

"It was because of the fact that the corpses were always found in the forest's outlines that everyone was warned to stay as far away from it as possible, the police thought that their hideout was located in the forest so they sent teams to look for them every once in a while but nobody came back, not even their corpses were ever found resulting in the rumor that the forest is actually cursed." He continued.

"It went on like this for years until the government thought it would be wise to put a first class hospital near the forest incase of locating any of the very few survivors who needed treatment, Nataly for example, consider yourselves lucky for escaping both of them!" He chuckled.

"Of course, it's a very rare occasion." He continued.

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Thunder: I hope you liked this chapter; the next one will be more fun.

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Thunder: I had to divide this part into a few parts because it's too long, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

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**Chapter 07**

**Explanation Part Two**

**"It went on like this for years until the government thought it would be wise to put a first class hospital near the forest incase of locating any of the very few survivors who needed treatment, Nataly for example, consider yourselves lucky for escaping both of them!" He chuckled.**

**"Of course, it's a very rare occasion**, that's why most of the doctors and nurses who're _"supposed to"_ work here never even bother to show up, the government pays them, so they simply slack off and go around having fun all day and they get well paid at the same time." He complained.

"I used to be a professional anatomist in the city's main hospital but they moved me here saying it's best for me to work in emergency cases like these. It's not that I'm complaining or anything it's just that at least I had something to do. From lack of work I feared that I might even forget my efficiency so I started to take courses in every single medical branch, sometimes you have to jump in somebody else's work when there out _"slacking off"_." He smirked.

"Well, it's thanks to them that I am who I am, I always look for the latest machines and everything else so I won't fall behind, I read books all the time, take new courses every now and then, so I guess it's fine, even Yura is learning new things along with me." He smiled.

"I'll be a great doctor just like my dad!" Yura exclaimed proudly waving a fist in the air, both of them laughed.

"I'm sure you will." Said Dr. Arisawa smiling, Abashira chuckled.

"Well, I have to thank the government and those slackers then." She said, the doctor looked at her in amusement.

"If it weren't for them, I would still be lost and Nataly would still be in pain…or worse." She laughed nervously as she finished her tea.

"I think I need to thank them even more… and I need to thank you too." He said, Abashira tilted her head questioningly.

"I get to spend time with my son more than any other father can." He said, his eyes looking far away.

_"That feeling…he's missing somebody."_ Thought Abashira and followed his gaze to the picture frame.

"So, she's your…" she started after a couple of minutes.

"Yes, yes she is." He cut her off in a rush, his voice would make you stop doing whatever your doing at once, but Abashira decided to keep going.

"So, what happened to her?" she asked her voice not above a whisper so that only the two of them heard each other. The doctor looked at her with a frown, his face almost talked on its own, asking the very question that couldn't escape his lips.

_"How did you know?"_

"You keep looking at the picture and… your eyes grow all lonely whenever you stare at it." She answered/explained, and he finally spoke.

"It was a long time ago, I'll tell you later." She could feel the sadness in his voice even though it was barely a whisper. She suddenly felt an aching pain pull on her heart, and she lowered her head in guilt. For a moment the room's atmosphere became suffocating and unbearable.

"So does that mean we get prize money for killing them!" cried Abashira breaking the silence in a loud excited voice sending the doctor falling backwards in his chair, so that his legs were hung up in the air.

"Huh?" was all he could choke out as he gripped the desk to support him as he stood up, for he almost got a heart attack at her sudden outburst.

"Well I be awarded for something? Will everybody see me on TV?" she cried out jumping around the small room in excitement.

"Uh, sorry to get your hopes down but where's your proof?" said the doctor as he sweat dropped laughing nervously.

"Huh?" she stopped abruptly and both she and Yura looked at Dr. Arisawa with a frown, she had picked up Yura and started swinging him around in the air, he enjoyed it.

"True you killed them, but will they believe you without any evidence?" he asked with a nervous smile, a minute of silence then Abashira pouted.

"You're a real spoiler you know that?" she said disappointedly and put Yura down. Adam laughed nervously.

"You have to keep it down if you want Nataly to rest well." He reasoned, Abashira nodded regaining her mature self, Adam instantly realized that she could be very childish sometimes.

"You know, our house is in the forest too." He said nonchalantly. Abashira's head snapped up to look at him in surprise, he simply shrugged.

"And you were the one who asked me "why". If you think about it, I didn't answer you myself." She said as she put her hands on her hips.

"I was just surprised that there was actually someone else living here, that's all." He shrugged.

"Well, same here. I bet for the same reason too, huh?" she said leaning on the wall, Adam nodded.

"Humans." They said in unison, and then they both looked away, deep in thought.

"I mean, just how can a little girl like Nataly end up in a situation like this, what did she do? And more importantly where are here parents anyway?" she finally let out the questions crossing her mind, as she crossed her arms over her chest thinking.

"You never know." He sighed.

Just as the words left his mouth a spirit appeared in front of them.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed this chapter; the next will hopefully be even nicer.

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Thunder: Part three of the explanation, I think it's the last part, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King.

...

**Chapter 08**

**Explanation Part Three**

**"I mean, just how can a little girl like Nataly end up in a situation like this, what did she do, and more importantly where are here parents anyway?" she finally let out her questions crossing her arms over her chest thinking.**

**"You never know." He sighed.**

**Just as the words left his mouth a spirit appeared in front of them.**

The ghost turned and took a good look on the sleeping Nataly with Yura beside her, then turned to the two grown ups,

"I'll tell you…everything that happened tonight." Said a long black haired woman with grave jade green eyes, she was leaning on the wall with her arms behind her.

"I… think the kid shouldn't listen to it though." Said her soft sad voice. Of course just the mentioning of "shouldn't" got everyone's suspense go higher than the roof.

"I want to know!" shouted Yura.

"Yura." Said his father in a warning tone.

"But I wan' a know too dad." He protested, the natural curiosity of a child could not be denied so easily.

"Fine." Sighed the woman's ghost, ignoring whatever the doctor was about to say.

"My name is Kanil Qui Tong. I am Nataly's mother." She said calmly.

Everyone's eyes grew wide with shock, although the doctor's expression was as calm as ever when they gasped_ "What was Nataly's mother doing as a GHOST?"_ yelled everyone in their mind, a moment of silence filled the room as they recovered from the short shock.

"Alright, I am from the Qui Tong family, a renowned shaman family." She started with a deep breath.

"We are much less "Popular" than our close neighbors the Tao family** (1)**, which I'm pretty sure you've heard of." The two adults nodded, they were sitting on the bench on the opposite side of the room.

"Our family is more specialized in fighting techniques than shamanic powers, my husband, Arroniero, had very high shamanic abilities, he came from Spain in a fieldtrip and we met by chance, I loved him, he loved me, so we married and here is our daughter." She continued.

"Not long after Nataly was born her grandparents died, leaving us as the last members of the Qui Tong family. Our mansion's place was well known, and knowing humans they've surely heard of our family loss, and with their well known hatred and rejection to shamans we decided to change it. We chose the farthest end of this forest; nothing surrounded us but trees so high that it covered the whole house."

"We kept a low profile, I never went out of the forest because everyone in the city new my face, but they've never seen Arroniero before so he was the one to go do all the shopping and stuff. Until Nataly's fifth birthday I never saw anything beyond the trees and the sky, so we decided to take her to some park or any ware actually, she would have fun and see the world from the outside for the first time." She paused for a bit, taking a deep breath as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Well, our first try ended with getting ourselves killed." She smiled a fake smile as tears fell down her transparent cheeks; she sobbed and lowered her head.

"Arroniero got whipped for; god knows how long and got thrown into a pile of burning wood until there was nothing left but ash. What's worse I couldn't do a thing! I tried so hard but I couldn't free myself to help him. It wouldn't have been so painful if I at least knew Nataly couldn't see this, but these inhuman beasts wouldn't understand things like mercy or anything of the sort." She cried out bitterly, tears falling down like rain to the floor, her arms were wrapped around her bent body, hands clenching her T-shirt as she shivered with every sob that left her throat.

The doctor looked at each person's face, Yura was in a confused shock, he'd seen people cry but only once did he experience it in such a state of pain, and he has never even heard of a thing called "burning to ash". Abashira's expression wasn't so different, but she seemed to hold down her tears. He sighed and turned to Kanil, she had almost recovered from the bad memory.

"Please continue." Said Adam in a most calm voice. She nodded and continued.

"After Arroniero it was my turn, I got every muscle dispatched from my body until there was nothing covering my bones, and he finally ripped my head off. All of this, and Nataly was not only forced to watch, but she also got hurt and almost died in the process of trying to help me." She finished as she sighed as she sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest leaning on the wall.

Yura's gauge was full to the top and he couldn't take it anymore, he ran straight to his father, tears slowly rolling down his cheeks. His father put him on his lap and hugged him wiping the tears off his face and slowly stoking his hair as Yura buried his face in his dad's shirt.

Abashira smiled at the site, she remembered how her father used to do the same when she cried, but the reason for that was all blurry in her mind, _"Man, do we have issues or what?"_ she thought to herself with a smile.

"So, is that why her over soul was so….strange?" she asked, only to get a confused frown from Adam.

"You didn't tell me about any over soul." He said, she stared at him for a moment.

"Oh! I guess I forgot." She smiled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.

"I wonder what else you_ "forgot"._" he said with a smirk, she only laughed nervously in response. Yura covered his mouth giggling at her behavior.

"So what about this over soul of hers?" the doctor finally asked.

"It turns everything it touches to bone! That's how I followed her trail, aside from the blood that is." Abashira was the first to answer.

"And she got the idea from seeing you, am I correct?" he turned to Kanil; she nodded and continued to explain.

"Once I was dead she got filled with rage and her power finally awoke from its slumber, she unconsciously channeled my soul and forced it into her bracelet, thus forming an over soul. Neither of us new what happened, but I realized I couldn't get out of her bracelet until now." She said earning confused looks.

"Well, I'm still new at being a ghost I have no idea how these things work!" she defended and they both slowly nodded in agreement.

"Anyway that's all of the important things, the rest was that three boys threw rocks at her, and after that a panther smelled her blood and wanted her for dinner but she did the same thing to them as she did to the gangsters. Luckily her powers were too exhausted when she met you, so you only received a minor injury." She said pointing at Abashira.

"Well it seems that tonight is all filled with luck for me!" said Abashira mockingly.

"I find a small girl half dead in a forest that I thought was isolated, I got to see my beautiful shoulder bone bare, I got imprisoned in some Foryoku sucking machine by some fat assassin, and last but not least I find out that this forest is inhabited by gangs, assassins, hospitals, and royal shaman families, which so happens to be the same forest I've lived in for years and thought that I was the only one in it!" she complained her arms stretched wide, then she crossed them over her chest, she chuckled as she looked at Nataly.

"Then again, she has incredible powers, you know? You must be really proud that she actually healed me in such a small age." She said softly.

"She….healed?" asked Dr. Arisawa in a completely shocked voice, his previous blank expression was all gone, replaced by only surprise and confusion.

"Alright what else do you have hiding from me little miss _"I forgot"_?" he asked. She only gave him a grin.

"That's all what's left!" she said in an innocent tone, and gave him a cute innocent pout.

"Don't you believe me?" she said childishly, he only rolled his eyes, and everyone laughed.

"So how can she heal?" he asked once more.

"I think she can only heal what she has done." Replied Kanil.

"And what does that mean?" asked Yura jumping on his father's lap.

"I think she takes back the foryuko she used to inflict the damage, thereby making it seem like making time go backwards on the wound or healing it, and I think she might be able to heal broken bones if she learns how to use her powers efficiently." She explained.

"Interesting…" mused the doctor. Silence filled the room for a moment.

"Abashira, was it? May ask you a favor?" said Kanil breaking the silence.

"Of course, anything you want." She replied. Kanil shifted uncomfortably.

"C-can you take care of Nataly for me? I'm a ghost know and…" she was cut off by Abashira.

"You don't need to ask me! I was the one who wanted to ask you would let me take care of her." She said. Kanil stared at her, half bewildered and half grateful.

"Of course I'll let you, but why would you want to take care of a child that you've never met?" she asked. Abashira looked at her as if the answer was obvious.

"Simple." She said. "I feel like I'm her big sister and I'm responsible for her." She said with a smile. Silence filled the room once again, until a smile appeared on Kanil's face.

"Then your responsibility she will be. I'm sure you won't disappoint me." She said. Abashira smiled happily and nodded.

Nataly began to shift and turn in her sleep after a few minutes.

"Well I guess it's time to go." Said Abashira standing up, Kanil nodded.

She went to go pick up Nataly when she felt someone tugging her shirt, she turned around to see Yura.

"Come and visit us again, pleeeaaassse?" he begged with the cutest puppy dog face he could make. She chuckled and said.

"We will I promise, and next time you can play with Nataly, if it's okay with your dad of course." Yura turned to his dad who nodded an approval then Yura's smile turned into a wide grin, and he nodded vigorously as he jumped in his spot.

"Yes, yes I would love that!" he shouted happily, and everyone laughed.

Abashira carried Nataly in her arms; both the shaman and the ghost thanked the doctor and his assistant for their help. After receiving some final instructions about everything they bowed in respect and turned to leave.

"Oh wait!" called Dr. Adam. They both turned around.

"Here's my number incase anything happens and you can't come." He said as he handed Abashira his business card, she gladly took it and stuck it into her pocket.

With a final thank you they waved goodbye and exited the hospital back into the forest.

Nataly took deep soft breaths and nuzzled against Abashira's chest as they walked deeper into the forest.

...

Thunder: Well? I hope you liked it, sorry if it's too long I couldn't possibly divide it into Part Four, so I hope it helped. If you have any questions I'd be glad to answer.

**(1) The story takes place in China.**

Please Review!


	9. Chapter 9

Thunder: I don't have much to say about this chapter so read on and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 09**

**Home Sweet Home**

**With a final thank you they waved goodbye and exited the hospital back into the forest.**

**Nataly took deep soft breaths and nuzzled against Abashira's chest as they walked deeper into the forest.**

"So where do you live?" asked Kanil after a few long minutes of walking.

"You'll see. It's not too far away actually." She replied.

"Though I still can't believe I missed noticing a hospital, and such a huge hospital that's near my house!" She muttered under her breath.

She felt someone whimper just behind her, she knew who it was and stopped abruptly with a smile, Kanil stopped to stare at her with a confused expression.

"I almost forgot to introduce you to somebody, he's a very close friend of mine, very kind and lovable, a little bony but you'll soon get used to it, he's the one and only weirdo soul reaper you've ever met, he lives with me, and is my guardian spirit, Sun!" she introduced with much excitement.

The ghost addressed appeared as soon as his mistress called his name, he bowed respectfully in front of Kanil, who stood there frozen for a moment, and then she melted and gave him a warm smile.

"You seem nice, why didn't you show up earlier?" she asked softly.

"Sun bashful." He replied, his white bony cheeks grew red as he looked away. Kanil chuckled. He certainly was nice.

"I've never met a soul reaper before." She said.

"Well, he's the only one you will meet, in this area that is." Said Abashira.

Soon they reached a hut; Sun had vanished by the time. It looked small but convenient.

"This is it, it's not much, merely enough for one person, but I think I'll manage taking care of your daughter, I mean, you will help me right?" she said as she held Nataly with one hand and opened the door with the other.

"Of course I will." Replied the ghost as she hovered into the house.

"Here we are, home sweet home!" she said as she entered and closed the door.

"It looks nice." She commented as she followed Abashira to another room.

"This is the kitchen, and yeah I like it too. Sorry for the dim light, it's hard to get electricity through a forest so I use candles more often." She said as she turned a switch on the wall.

"I'll show you around the house once I put Nataly in bed." She said as the beige room lit by two yellow lights which stuck on a wall to the door's left, right above the only window in he room, next to the wall facing the door lied a wooden bed in the middle, it's left side stuck to the wall next to it, the big wooden cupboard stood against the wall next to the door, on the right wall to the door was another door, and beside it was a wide night stand with several drawers and a mirror hung over it. Despite the furniture, the room looked empty, it was that big.

"I thought you said it was enough for only one person." Said Kanil in wonder as she looked around.

"I think what I meant is that I only have stuff for one person, but yeah I guess another bed could fit itself nicely if we rearrange the room. This is the biggest room in the house." She thought aloud.

She carefully took off Nataly's ripped dress and laid her on her stomach on the bed.

"Just let me see if I can find something…." She said to herself opening the cupboard, she flipped through shirts, tops, and T-shirts until she found something.

"Here we go. Sorry that's the smallest thing I have." She said pulling out a T-shirt and turning to Kanil.

She carefully slipped the T-shirt on sleeping Nataly, covered her with the sheets and went outside the room after turning off the lights.

"So, this is the kitchen, small but quite enough." She said with a small sigh as she turned the lights on.

The walls were painted bright blue and there were flower patterns on the edges of each wall and around the window, which almost covered the whole wall's width on the right of the bedroom's door, on the wall opposing the window was a dark blue sofa, next to the bedroom's door, to it's right lied the refrigerator, the stove and counters were all placed against the wall right under the window, and near the house's main door was a small round table with two chairs on each side, you wouldn't notice them if you entered from the front door for they were hidden behind an L shaped wall, next to the sofa was another wooden door. The room was small and thus crowded with furniture. Kanil took a good look around and nodded for Abashira to continue. Abashira nodded back and went to open the next door.

"Let's move on to the living room." She said switching on another light.

Another small room painted in a yellowish brown color, the room's only furniture were several separated cushions arranged next to the walls on the ground to sit on, with a very small low coffee table in the middle, lots of candles were stocked inside plastic bags and arranged on top of the table, the whole room was filled with dust, the cushions were red, but wore a brown blanket of dust all over them, the room had one small window on the wall to the right of the door.

"I used to come and sit here every once in a while but now it's completely isolated." She said with a sheepish grin.

"Why is that?" asked Kanil. Abashira took her time looking at the room with a far away look and a lonely smile before she answered.

"Because it started to bring back bad memories instead of good ones, the only time I would enter this room is to get some new candles then I rush out with a tornado of dust behind me." She said gesturing with her thumb as she closed the door.

"Bad memories…..instead of good ones?" wondered Kanil, she didn't expect an answer.

"Yeah. I don't really remember what the memories were about, I was young and I barely remember anything." She said, her tone was soft but Kanil could still feel something strange about it, so she wisely stopped asking, and Abashira was secretly grateful for that.

"Well that covers the whole house, just four simple rooms and a roof!" she said changing back to her cheerful self.

"Where's the fourth then?" asked Kanil looking around.

"You can go to it from the bedroom; it's just the bathroom anyway." Abashira replied.

"What do you do to pass time here?" Kanil finally asked after a few minutes.

"Well, since there's absolutely nothing to do, I spend most of my time training, aside from going to work every evening." She replied sitting on the kitchen sofa.

"Every evening?" Kanil sounded worried.

"Yeah, I was just coming back home when I heard you screaming." She said nonchalantly.

"Don't worry about Nataly, I'll ask for a week's break, she's bound to adjust here by then, and whenever I go to work she can come with me, kids are allowed where I work." She said reassuringly. Kanil nodded feeling relieved.

"Will you train Nataly with you?" she asked.

"Of course I will!" replied Abashira immediately.

"Why don't we go and check up on Nataly?" she suggested after a few minutes, Kanil nodded and they both headed for the bedroom.

* * *

Thunder: Was that too much describing? Well I hope you liked it.

By the way everyone I made a poll at my profile for upcoming stories, it's not that this story will be done any time soon but it's just so I can sort my mind on things, I hope you give me your vote.

Special thanks to ottawawolf for the idea.

Please review!

(Oh before I forget! I want everyone to choose either the name [Abashira] or [Abba] or [Shira] and [Nataly] or [Moon] in their reviews, chapter 10 won't be out until I find out which one the readers (that's you) like best, so it's up to you to decide which name goes for the rest of the story.) P.S. the second names are just their nicknames.


	10. Chapter 10

Thunder: Chapter 10 is here! I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Nightmares and Dreams**

**"Why don't we go and check up on Nataly?" she suggested after a few minutes, Kanil nodded and they headed for the bedroom.**

Abashira went and sat on the ground right beside Nataly's head, while Kanil simply vanished. The moon's light shone through the small window all the way till Nataly's face, she looked so peaceful when she slept. Abashira felt jealous and leaned her head on a free space on the mattress and slowly drifted off to sleep.

A few minutes later Nataly's body started to shift and her eyelids slowly opened and she woke up with a small moan.

"W-what? Where…where am I?" she asked in a voice not above a whisper, Abashira's eyes flipped open as she heard the small sound and cautiously lifted her head to see Nataly, and her expression turned all happy.

"You're in my house." She replied softly. Nataly slowly turned her head to see Abashira's smiling face.

"You…you're the… the woman who…who saved me." She said slowly her voice still very low, Abashira figured she's just tired.

"Yes, that's me. Do you still remember my name?" she asked childishly.

"Uh…Aba…Abasho…no! Abashi…no I mean…" she continued like this for a whole minute getting more energetic and frustrated after each failure. She had already sat up straight without noticing as she tried to figure out the rather complicated, strange sounding name.

"Aaargh! Why can't I remember it?" she shouted in frustration. Abashira chuckled.

"Yes I know it's a weird name. Abashira." She said softly.

"But it's way too hard." Grumbled Nataly. Then her face lit up as an idea struck her mind.

"I know. I'll call you Shira!" she said happily.

"Shira?" wondered Abashira.

"Is it okay? Do you like it?" she asked quietly.

"Sure, why not. On one condition…"

"What?"

"You let me nickname you as well." She said playfully.

"Okay, what?" giggled Nataly.

"I'll have to think about that later, how are you feeling?" she slowly asked.

"Huh?" was her only response, it was only when she looked down on herself did she see all the bandages and her gyps covered arm.

"I think I'm okay." She answered after a few minutes and Shira felt relieved.

The night's events suddenly burst into Nataly's mind like a wave that floods the beach, reversing her warm smile into a sad frown as she lowered her head, the events ran like slow motion pictures in her head, leaving her in her own sufferings as she forcefully pulled herself out of the drowning wave.

"Tell me it was a nightmare…please tell me that all of this night is just a bad dream." She said, tears forming on the edge of her eyes as she looked Shira in the eye, who looked back in equally sad eyes.

"I'm sorry my little moon." She said in a very sad tone, and hugged the now crying Nataly. "I'm afraid it wasn't just a nightmare." She whispered, tears falling down her own cheeks as Nataly began to sob and cry bitterly and she held her closer, careful not to hurt her wounds.

"Please no cry." Said Sun as he appeared in an attempt to calm her down but it didn't work.

"N-now I…I'm all…alone." She managed between sobs.

"No your not." Said Shira firmly, Nataly slowly looked up at her words, tears slowly flowing down her cheeks.

"You still have me."

"And me!" called Sun from behind her raising his arms in the air.

"Yes." She chuckled. "You still have me and Sun, I bet we can be good friends." That made the flowing rivers stop for a bit, and a small smile came across her face as she wiped her tears and slowly nodded.

"Not to mention your mother's spirit is still with you." That last comment almost made Nataly's eyes pop out.

"MOM IS STILL HERE?" she shouted almost making Shira's eardrums burst.

"Of course I am. I wouldn't leave my precious daughter all alone, would I?" she heard her mother's voice say from behind her.

Nataly whipped her head towards the voice's source and tears started to fall down again stronger than before as she launched herself towards her mother's lap, embracing her into a tight hug as she buried her face into her chest. They both sat on the bed like that for a few moments.

"There, there…I'm always with you, you should know that by now. I need you to stay strong for me, okay?" she said slowly stroking her shiny black hair. _"It's a miracle that it didn't get stained with blood after all of this." _Thought Kanil.

"Okay." Managed Nataly between sobs. After a few minutes she finally calmed down, sat up and wiped her tears.

"You must be hungry after all that running, wana eat something?" said Shira.

_"Idiot! She just woke up from a huge injury and I offer food before resting?"_ she screamed in her mind, she was about to smack her head when Nataly's stomach growled. _"No way."_ She slowly looked at Nataly, whose face had gone from red to bloodshot red.

"Uuh…well I am hungry, but…I really have no appetite at all." She stuttered with a nervous grin.

"Uh…Oh! Right! Then you should take your time and rest." She stumbled in her words. _"Yeah, I definitely understand 'why'."_

Nataly nodded and lied down on the bed; Shira pulled the sheets over her and sat back beside her on the ground. Kanil stayed on the bed, slowly stroking Nataly's hair until she fell asleep. They both watched her soft sleeping face for what felt like half an hour.

"She needs cloths for tomorrow" said Kanil nonchalantly.

"No problem, I'll buy her new ones." Replied Shira.

"What will she wear till then?"

"….."

"You can still go to our house and get her some of hers." She suggested tentatively only to receive a glare from Shira.

"You mean leave her alone? At night? In this forest and in her current

state?" she slowly asked.

"It's now or never, she's asleep and won't notice anything." She replied looking away.

"You're her mother. You should know better than me." She stated quietly.

"I-I know that! But…." Her voice trailed off.

Silence filled the room, an uncomfortable atmosphere. Shira didn't like the idea, but she didn't want to disappoint the newly dead ghost, she probably wanted to help, Shira took a deep breath….

"I know she needs cloths…and judging tonight's weather tomorrow will be a bit chilly…alright fine...I guess I can leave Sun to guard her." She said hesitantly.

Kanil's face lit up immediately.

"Sun here has a nasty habit of scaring people away. This time it'll actually come in handy, right Sun?" Smiled Shira.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Sun loves scaring strangers!" He jumped from behind excited. They both chuckled.

"Promise me you won't let anyone come one meter close from Nataly, got it Sun?" she ordered. Sun nodded respectfully. Shira went and got her blue jacket on.

"Right. Lead the way then." She turned to Kanil. Kanil smiled at the stranger's determined will to help her daughter.

"Follow me." She said walking away.

Shira took one last glance at the house before it vanished between the tall tree trunks. She failed to see three strange figures coming closer to the bedroom's window.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry but I couldn't wait so I decided on my own (with a little help).

Please Review!


	11. Chapter 11

Thunder: This might be called 'over doing it' but that's just part of my story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Abduction**

**"Lead the way then." Shira turned to Kanil. Kanil smiled at the stranger's determined will to help her daughter.**

**"Follow me." She said walking away.**

**Shira took one last glance at the house before it vanished between the tall tree trunks. She failed to see three strange figures coming closer to the bedroom's window.**

…..

Nataly was in deep needed sleep failing to notice Sun five inches away from her face, he was keeping _close_ watch over her looking in every direction cautiously every few seconds.

…..

Just behind some bushes was a totally different conversation…

"Now?" asked a very muscular man for about the thousandth time for his patience went down from hundred to one.

"Yes, yes. Now we can go." Replied a rather irritated, tall, and very thin man.

"Then let's get revenge!" said another muscular man hitting his palm with a fist.

The three slowly crept closer to the window.

…..

Sun was looking around carefully when he noticed moving figures coming nearer.

_"Kitty cats?"_ he thought as he went to look over the window then shook it off, cat's have nothing to do in this forest, he knew better.

Once he reached the window he saw three men, _"Hehe, let's begin, for a little appetizer…let's see, oh! Whisper in their ears."_ He thought with an evil grin.

Sun slowly approached the last one from the tiny group and decided to scare him first; it was the very muscular man.

_"Stop!"_ he whispered firmly into his ears.

"H-hey Lu… did you hear something?" he stuttered his face painted in white as he shivered.

"Oh, come on! It's just your imagination again." The one addressed replied in a whisper.

_"Touch the window and you'll get a surprise...a very nasty surprise."_ Continued Sun as he whispered to all three of them, his wide smile never fading away.

"D-Did you hear that? L-Lu!" the muscular man almost shrieked.

"It's probably just a trick to keep us away. Stop acting like a baby when you're as big as a bull!" said Lu.

_"And you know how nasty?"_ continued Sun.

"L-L-L-L-L-L-L-LU!" the man cried.

"What is it now Luke? Lower your voice." Said the third man.

"Are you coming with me and Dan or what?" said Lu. No reply. Luke's knees were clacking and so were his teeth. Lu sighed.

"Fine. Stay here and prepare everything while we get the girl. I'm not scared of some voice telling me there's a "nasty surprise"." He said mockingly. Luke barely nodded and turned around sprinting to the bush.

Sun grinned at his triumph and continued working at the remaining two. When they were mere inches away from the window the man called Dan ran off, screaming like a woman, noted Sun. His last _screaming_ words were "I'll go help Luke!" Sun couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Stupid chickens." Mumbled Lu as he proceeded to open the window and enter the room.

Sun wasn't going to let him go any further. He drew out a scythe, it looked exactly like Shira's over soul except the bone was white and the blade looked rather crumbled but it could cut anything. Sun positioned the blade around Lu's neck so it formed a "V" shape with the rod. Lu instantly stopped in his tracks as he felt something "unseen" and rather "sharp" touch his neck, sweat drops started to form on his forehead.

_"One step further and it's off with your head."_ He threatened, his voice was filled with intent to kill unlike before, and Lu realized that and started to shiver as his body stiffened.

A few seconds later a smirk spread its way through his face as sweat started to roll down faster on his face.

"I must be crazy…to actually use…THIS!" he said it slowly to distract him as he pulled a device out of his pocket Sun saw this and pulled the scythe backwards so it will tighten around his neck but before Sun could react any further Lu had already pressed a button and, even with Sun's struggling, he got absorbed into it and couldn't get out.

"I never believed in ghosts but now…the proof is right in my hand." He whispered to himself, he smirked and dropped the device on the floor and headed to the bed.

The sound of the device's impact on the floor made Nataly jolt up awake. She looked around in fear, and then she saw the thin man getting closer. She quickly scrambled to the farthest edge of the room gasping in fear as the man came closer with that malice-full smirk that's been following her all night.

With a swift move he snatched Nataly, went out the window and into the forest in a few seconds. He was that afraid he almost fainted.

Nataly kept struggling out of his grip but to no avail, she then tried to scream but he had covered her mouth with his other hand. They soon reached the other two men.

"Did you…get everything…ready?' he asked panting hard, he was running.

"Wow Lu! You even managed to keep her from screaming." Exclaimed Luke in amazement. Lu just wanted to hit him. With all the distraction Nataly managed a…crunch.

Lu's eyes went wide, his face turned red with the suppressed scream in his mouth that came out as small fast whines, he finally lost his self control as Nataly bit her teeth even harder on his palm and he started running around screaming, shaking his trapped arm violently, Nataly grinded her teeth into his palm even harder until blood came out, for the sake of not crashing to the ground and to give him a lesson he deserved. Unfortunately only the second goal was achieved, Lu raised his hand high in the air then flung it down so that Nataly hit the ground with a thud, and Nataly winced in pain.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Pin her down." Yelled Lu as he held his bleeding hand.

They did the task with no hesitation. Nataly tried to scan her surroundings but she was still dizzy. The only thing she recognized was…_"Is that a grill?"_ she screamed in her mind. A grill with burning red coal with an orange-red bladed sword (because of the heat) over it. Nataly couldn't even figure out who these people were to start worrying about what they could do with a grill and a sword they couldn't even touch.

* * *

Thunder: Did everybody like it? Well I hope you did.

Please Review!


	12. Chapter 12

Thunder: I hope you're enjoying my story. Chapter twelve is here. **(Edited)**

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Goodnight**

**"What the hell are you waiting for? Pin her down." Yelled Lu as he held his bleeding hand.**

**They did the task with no hesitation. Nataly tried to scan her surroundings but she was still dizzy. The only thing she recognized was…**_**"Is that a grill?"**_** she screamed in her mind. A grill with burning red coal with an orange-red bladed sword (because of the heat) over it. Nataly couldn't even figure out who these people were to start worrying about what they could do with a grill and a sword they couldn't even touch.**

Suddenly a heavy foot appeared from above and pressed against her chest preventing her from breathing, she gasped for air to refill her now empty lungs but only little air went through to reach them, apparently Lu wanted revenge for himself as well as his boss. One of the men ripped her shirt off along with the bandage that covered her back, now she was naked but that was the least of her problems. The foot finally lifted up and sweet air made its way to Nataly's lungs.

The man named Luke held her arms to her waist as the other named Dan took out a knife. _"Again with the knife."_ Sighed Nataly to herself and started to wriggle her way out of the man's grip but it was futile, he had an arm around her and the other secured her mouth. Nataly gasped as the knife tore its way through her delicate skin but it didn't go as deep as the one on her back. She felt the knife drawing lines across the skin; she felt the blood rolling down her arm as he did so. The pain wasn't as strong as before but it was still pain, she tried not to scream but tears formed and started flowing slowly as she clenched her teeth, until the knife finally pulled back leaving permanently ripped skin.

She let her guard down for when the moment she could have escaped and ran away she hit the ground instead. Dan and Luke held her limbs not leaving the tiniest chance to move, she saw Lu wear really thick gloves as he went to the grill. She looked at him in confusion and fear when he picked up the sword and turned to her his grin as evil as ever. Her breathing became faster and faster as he came closer and closer until it turned to soft gasps for air, sweat rolling down her face in fear.

She gasped, her eyes opened wide in a mixture of pain and horror, soon she started to scream in pain as the burning hot sword was pressed against her body from her left shoulder to the right side of her hip. The sensation of burning skin was killing her, as the red metal made its way deeper, it felt like eternity until the sword finally lifted she only got a second to breath before it touched her skin again, this time from the right shoulder to the left side of her hip, she kept screaming, they kept laughing and pushing in harder. When it lifted it left an "X" mark on her chest and abdomen, but it seemed like that alone didn't satisfy the monsters kneeling beside her, the sword pressed against her body one last time, this time it connected the ends of the previous burns, from the right side of the hip to its left side.

The pain finally lifted, her throat burned from the constant screaming, her entire body was screaming in pain, she couldn't recognize anything she saw next, her vision was blurry, air barely made its way to her lungs, each gasp for air made her body shake in pain.

"That's not all~" she heard Lu say.

"Ready Dan?" it was Luke's voice.

"The final blow!" Announced Dan.

"Take that!" they exclaimed in unison.

She closed her eyes awaiting the knife to pierce her skin but it didn't. She heard shrieks of surprise and fear around her then silence; everyone seemed lifeless around Nataly, the silence that resembled death itself. Her vision had cleared a bit and she recognized a huge black spear.

Nataly just laid there unable to move, she concentrated on breathing for the moment, sweat covering her entire body. She gasped as a pair of hands suddenly picked her up, she could recognize the person holding her.

"Shira!" she exclaimed happily, and returned to panting for she still lacked air.

"The burns aren't too deep, thank god; some cold water should help soothe the pain. The shoulder wound isn't that deep either I can bandage it up easily." She analyzed.

"After that you get yourself some well earned rest, okay?" she told Nataly as she wrapped her jacket around her.

"Yeah." Nataly answered in a low whisper as she looked up at Shira.

Her eyes shone under the moon's light in such a way that Shira couldn't help but admire it; the moon's light reflected on her dark black eyes giving it an exotic gleam, Shira never saw such beautiful eyes.

"I know what to nickname you." She said poking a finger at her nose.

"What?" chuckled Nataly.

"You look beautiful under the moon light. So I'll call you Moon." She simply said with a warm smile looking up at the shining sphere in the dark sky.

"I like it." Said Moon in a whisper and snuggled against Shira, and she carried her back inside.

* * *

"Ouch!" yelled Moon as the antiseptic touched the wounded shoulder.

"You need to learn how to endure, Nataly." Said Kanil calmly from the wall she was leaning on crossing her arms over her chest.

"But it stings!" hissed Moon.

Shira was slowly cleaning the wound from the blood and proceeded to put the antiseptic on it, and here came the hard part.

"Stay Still!" shouted Shira holding her from the upper arm tightly.

"Ow!" exclaimed Moon trying to move away.

"Just one more time…there done." She sighed. Moon finally sat down peacefully as Shira started to bandage it and backed a little to see how it looked. Moon had already put on the rainbow colored pajama pants that Shira brought back.

"Let me go get some cold water and we'll start on that burn." She said standing up and headed to the kitchen. The room went silent for a moment until Shira came back with many small pieces of cloth and a bottle of water.

She poured some water on a piece of cloth and started to rub the burn marks, Moon sighed contentedly as the heat switched to a nice cold sensation. Shira slowly pushed Moon backwards so she was laying on the bed and took another cloth and put some disinfectant on it, stood up over Moon, who almost fell asleep from the soothing cold, and started to move the cloth over the burn marks. Moon gasped at the contact, she couldn't back away because she was laying on the bed so she tried to wriggle away out instead.

"Endure it Moon, it's not that bad." Said Shira as she continued.

Moon complied albeit stiffly, she tried to endure but couldn't help to hiss and moan every few seconds until Shira finished.

"That should do it." She said turning around. Moon sighed and slowly sat up. Shira knelt down in front of her and started to put the bandage on both her back wound and her burns, Moon already had her arms in the air to make it easier for her.

"I fear the burn marks won't go away, they're too deep to heal." Said Shira in a sad tone.

"It's okay." Replied Moon calmly.

"The wounds on your back and shoulder as well." She pointed out.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Repeated Moon smiling slightly, Shira smiled back.

"Sun, what's wrong?" asked Moon looking at Sun who hovered next to the window looking gloomy.

"Sun bad." He replied miserably.

"No you're not." Moon said as Shira finished with the bandage. Shira turned to look at him confused.

"You did your best Sun. It's not your fault at all." She said softly.

"But..."

"No buts." She cut him.

"I'm not upset; no one is, so there's no need to feel bad." Moon and Kanil nodded in agreement. Sun nodded reluctantly and managed a smile.

"So how did you find me?" asked Moon after a minute of silence.

"Oh that? Well..." She replied thinking back.

_-Flashback-_

_"I never thought there was such a huge mansion at the other end of the forest, and it's near my house too!" mumbled Shira disappointed._

_"Well we did our best to make it seem invisible; you not knowing of it proves that we did a good job." Whispered Kanil to herself._

_"I never thought a girl her age has so many jeans." Said Shira quickly changing the subject._

_"I thought it seemed like she had more colors than jeans." Responded Kanil, it sounded more like a question._

_"Oh?" said Shira looking at the small pile of cloths._

_"Haha, opps. You're right." She laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head blushing._

_"How old is she?"_

_"Five."_

_"That's great!" exclaimed Shira._

_"That way I have two years to teach her everything she needs to know before she starts school." She explained enthusiastically._

_"That's very kind of you." Smiled Kanil._

_"No problem. After she fully recovers we'll start on improving her muscles, then we start on fighting styles. I'd like to leave over souls for later." She thought aloud then she chuckled._

_"I'll make her the strongest, fastest, best shaman girl ever!" she announced excitedly raising a fist into the air. Kanil laughed nervously_ "She really is childish sometimes."_ She thought to herself._

_"I agree to that." Said Kanil._

_"Hmm." Said Shira with a slight frown._

_"What's wrong?"_

_"She doesn't have that many clothes." She pointed out looking through them._

_"One pajama, one jeans, one short, two shirts…and a pair of underwear." She counted._

_"I need to buy her some new ones." She said to herself._

_"We had to stay low so we barely went out to buy such things, we were planning to though…" she trailed off._

_"But you got killed in the process." Shira completed quietly._

_"Yes." She replied miserably._

_"Can I ask you something?"_

_"Sure."_

_"If you are with Moon then shouldn't her dad be with her too? I mean, why didn't he show up?" she asked uncomfortably. Kanil took her time to think._

_"Fire." She replied simply._

_"What? What does fire have to do with…" Kanil cut her._

_"Fire exhausts the spirit's spiritual energy, thereby forcing it to move on to the other world whether the spirit wanted to or not." She explained._

_"Oh." Was her response, she slowly thought about it, it kind of made sense. She slowly nodded in understanding._

_A loud scream of pain resonated from not far away, they both took quick glances at each other, it was Nataly's voice. Shira ran as fast as her legs could go with Kanil hovering right beside her._

_"What happened? Yelled Kanil from behind._

_"Something bad. If that's really Nataly that means that both she and Sun are in trouble." She yelled back. She then took out a small stick from her pocket._

_"I need your spirit to make an over soul." She yelled, Kanil nodded. And entered the stick with the help of Shira and made a long shining black spear, it was decorated with red crystals and golden rings. And they reached Nataly in no time._

-End of flashback-

"And then we rescued you." She said simply and smiled.

"Oh." Was Moon's reply. She was too tired to say more.

Shira helped Moon put on her pajama t-shirt, pulled up the covers and turned off the lights. It only took a few seconds and Moon surrendered to sweet sleep.

"You want me to make you a stone tablet?" she asked Kanil. Kanil thought for a moment and looked around.

"No, I'll just stay in the bracelet." She said pointing to the night stand where it lay.

"Okay. Call me if you need anything." Kanil nodded after a grateful 'thank you' and vanished.

Shira went out of the room. Sun appeared kneeling in front of her.

"Forgive me mistress." His deep husky voice said.

"There's nothing to forgive, you did your best and that's what matters to me the most." She scolded.

"And don't call me 'mistress' we're friends, and I have a new nickname now anyway, Shira!" She chuckled; Sun looked up at her happily.

"We're finally having some company, Sun. We're going to enjoy this I'm sure." She said with a yawn.

"Where should I…" she trailed off looking around.

"Oh! Who cares?" she mumbled falling onto the sofa, both her left arm and leg hung in the air resting on the sofa's back as her right arm and leg were dangling to the ground.

"AAAH! I'm beat! B-E-A-T BEAT!" she exclaimed but not so loud as to wake the girl up.

"I don't even remember the troubles of the day to remember everything that happened tonight. But I know one think I'm exhausted to the point I may just sleep here for an entire week. "She mumbled.

"Sun want sleep." Said Sun sleepily and entered Shira's bracelet that she wore.

"Good night Sun." mumbled Shira.

"Good night Shira." He mumbled back.

The house was soon as silent as the forest that surrounded them, not a voice could be made out, and not a whisper could be heard.

* * *

Thunder: For those who didn't get what the change is, it's the part where Moon asks about her father, I erased that. So that means that she still doesn't know what happened to him.

Please Review!


	13. Chapter 13

Thunder: If anyone has any objections against the name 'Moon' they're free to suggest any other _Chinese_ name as long as it means the same thing or related to it or any other name you would like to suggest. I'm free to read everybody's suggestions, it only depends on if I like it, if I do I'll change it.

And for those who don't know, I have a poll on my profile for which story I should write after this one, if you're interested come and vote! Special thanks to ottawawolf for the idea.

Have fun reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**A Friendly Visit**

The second day started with a quiet meal of breakfast, right after that Shira showed Moon around the house, Moon kept silent for a while she smiled all the time albeit tiredly, she was merely limping around behind Shira, she was still tired.

Shira finished all the important introductions then picked her up and put her back in bed, Moon looked almost like she was going to faint any moment and Shira didn't want that to happen, Moon fell asleep no sooner than her head touched the soft pillow.

"It's only now that the strain from the night's events showed on her." Said Shira softly.

Kanil appeared beside her, her calm serious visage didn't change.

"She still needs to rest." She responded calmly. Shira nodded, suddenly the phone started to ring. Shira and Sun exchanged looks, Kanil searched the area.

"I didn't see a telephone yesterday." She finally said.

"That's because it hasn't been used for years. Why would it…or how could it ring now?" replied Shira. They stood there for a minute without movement, the phone still ringing.

"Well, go answer it." Said Kanil finally. Shira nodded and headed towards the living room. She stood in front of the door Kanil and Sun hovering behind her. She stood there eying the door knob for what felt to her like a thousand years.

"Go on!" Kanil finally lost to her curiosity and wanted to find out who the caller is. Shira lifted her hand slowly to the door knob, gripped it and spun it open. The door to the dusty old _cursed room_, or at least that's what she liked to call it opened for the third time in twenty four hours. She entered reluctantly and looked around. Kanil couldn't wait any longer and pushed Shira in. Shira yelped as she went deeper inside the room, her body stiffened to the point that her legs couldn't move an inch.

"It's not polite to let people wait you know." Said Kanil, a rare mischievous smile plastered on her face. Shira glared back at her but that was all she could do, after all she was right.

Shira knelt in front of the furthest corner of the room and opened a trap door. Kanil was most amazed.

"You have a trap door? So you must have a basement." She concluded.

"Yes I have, where else would I store everything in this small house. But I'm not telling you where it is." She beamed back at her.

"That's not a problem. I'll simply look _through_ the house as I please. I'm a ghost remember?" she smiled triumphantly. Shira pouted at her as she pulled out the ringing telephone and closed the trap door.

"Who told you that I'll let you? Did you forget that Sun is a spirit too and can easily stop you?" she retorted smiling.

"Just answer the phone. Its sound is irritating!" she nearly yelled and crossed her arms and pouted. Shira smiled happily and sat down on one of the dusty cushions and picked up the telephone receiver.

"Hello?" she said casually.

_"Don't 'hello' me! Where have you been? It's been fifteen minutes and no one came to answer!" _Answered a rather dissatisfied man from the other end.

"Um…sorry. Who are you?" she asked nervously blushing.

_"Who am I? Who do you think?"_ the man asked playfully.

"I don't know, no one has called me for years except for my boss but that's occasional." She replied thinking to herself.

_"Which leaves the only person left is..."_ he helped.

"Um… who else has my number?" she thought hard.

_"Okay, 'you' didn't give me your number. But you do know me." _He said.

"Hmm…who are the people I know…" she was trying to think but her mind stayed as blank as a white wall.

_"I have yellow hair and bright green eyes. If that doesn't ring a bell I'll hang up." _He threatened playfully.

"Yellow and green...Wait…" she mused.

"DOCTOR ADAM ARISAWA!" she both gasped and yelled loudly into the speaker.

There were many sounds to be heard from the other end, mostly sounding like books being thrown around, crashing and booming, and many other loud sounds, the last one to be heard was a loud _'Slam'_.

_"YOU NEARLY PIERCED MY EARDRUM WOMAN!" _he yelled into the speaker.

Shira had to move the receiver away because of the loud voice.

"You're the one who almost pierced my eardrum! It's not my problem that you're both a scardy cat and a fat head!" she yelled back.

_"What did you call me?" _he yelled back.

"And I was actually happy that it was you." She snapped at him.

Kanil and Sun watched or rather _listened_ to the conversation in front of them in amusement, the two adults were yelling at each other like five year olds, their voices were loud enough for the entire forest to hear; fortunately nothing could awake Moon from her slumber.

"I don't want to hear your stupid voice again." She said sounding more like a teenager in Kanil's opinion; she was ready to slam the phone back in place when the doctor's voice could be heard.

_"WAIT WAIT!"_ he screamed. Shira frowned and brought it next to her ear reluctantly.

"What is it now?" she asked not very politely but rather annoyed.

_"I just want to ask how you are, how you and Nataly are."_ He said calmly.

"Well, we're just fine." She replied still upset.

_"Do you have anything to do right now?"_ he asked.

"No, why?" she asked back.

_"I don't have much to do either and I thought maybe you would like some company."_ He explained.

"So now you're just simply inviting yourself?" she said sounding angry.

_"No! I'm just asking for your permission…and if you might show us the way at least."_ He stuttered. Shira kept silent for a moment thinking it over.

_"Abashira?"_

"Don't call me that." She mumbled.

_"Then what should I call you?"_ he chuckled.

"Just walk down straight from the hospital down the forest and you'll see a small house." She huffed.

_"Thanks, I'll be there in half an hour or so, Yura is coming too, do you mind?"_ he asked.

"No, not at all, maybe Moon wakes up and likes to play with him." She replied softly with a smile, the thought of that energetic kid erased all of what was left from her anger.

_"Who's Moon? You have a lot to explain Abashira!"_ he taunted.

"Stop calling me Abashira! Just get here and you'll know everything there is to know." She ended and closed the phone.

* * *

"She hung up on me!" he said surprised.

"You like her dad right?" Yura was picking the books up from the ground and flashed him a cheeky smile.

"No I don't!" he snapped back.

"Then why are you blushing?" he teased.

"Boy you're just asking to be grounded." H warned. Yura shrugged.

"It's not like I'm going out anywhere." He said simply picking up another book.

"That means no games, no TV, and no books." He continued with a smug smile on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"No problem, I've read most of the books, nothing to watch on TV and I finished all the games." He shrugged.

"Starting now." Yura whipped his head at him eyes wide in surprise.

"That means you stay here while I go visit Abashira and Nataly." He said turning away, his smile turned into a grin.

"No! Dad come on, don't be so mean. I really wanted to go!" he ran after his father after putting the pile of books on the desk.

"Then don't act so cheeky in front of your father, Yura." He said his smile fading slightly.

"I promise, it was only a joke." He replied.

"Well I hate jokes like these; you should know I would never like anyone over your mother." He said in a low voice, he looked far away; a sad painful expression was on his face. Yura stopped in his tracks.

"Mom?" he whispered. Adam looked at his son.

"Where is mom?" he slowly asked. Adam turned around and walked away.

"She's not coming back." He answered simply. Yura felt something coming up his throat but had no idea what this feeling meant. He slowly walked after his dad outside the huge white house. The rest of the walk was filled with an unbearable silence.

* * *

"So that was the doctor?" asked Kanil after Shira put back the telephone on the table.

"Yes, he's coming to visit." She replied with a smile.

"Shira?"

"Yes?'

"How old are you?" Shira looked at her confused.

"Why that all of a sudden?" she laughed.

"I just want to know…how long you've lived here on your own." She stuttered.

"Oh." Was her reply. She stood up and brushed the dust away then thought for a moment.

"Dr. Arisawa will surely ask the same question." She simply said and left the room. Sun and Kanil followed shortly after.

"So what will you do now?" asked Kanil leaning on the kitchen wall as she watched Shira stand in the middle of the kitchen doing nothing.

"What do you mean?" she looked at her confused.

"Where will you two sit? In the kitchen? I don't think so. When was the last time you cleaned that room?" she asked amiably.

"I'm not going in there again!" she stuttered.

"You need to get over whatever it is that's keeping you out of there." She said crossing her arms over her chest. Shira couldn't argue with that.

"Fine, I'll go and clean it up." She sighed defeated. She went back inside the room and searched on one of the walls.

'What are you doing?" Kanil asked confused.

"Opening the closet." She replied as she finally found a tiny circle in the wall, she pressed it and opened a door that leads to multiple cleaning equipments. Kanil couldn't help but gape at the site.

"What else do you have hidden?" she finally broke from her surprised gaze.

"You'll find out eventually." She said smiling as she pulled out an apron and put it on, she rolled up her lime green sleeves and pulled out a bucket then went to the kitchen and came back with it full of water and a towel in her other hand, she dipped it into the water-filled bucket, twisted it to get rid of excess water and started mopping the floor with on her knees.

Kanil smiled at the site, _"It's almost like I have two daughters now."_

Half an hour later…

When someone suddenly knocked on the door Shira had just finished cleaning every inch of the room. She took off the apron and quickly put back everything in place, the filthy water in the bucked was already thrown out, and the bucket was cleaned and had just dried. Shira quickly rearranged her hair and clothes and opened the door.

"Hi!" she greeted happily with a smile.

"Hi!" replied a high happy voice that came from below. She looked down at Yura with a wide grin.

"Hello." Said the tall doctor beside him with a wide smile.

"Come on in." she stepped aside and gestured for them to come in. They both did and she closed the door behind them.

"It's nice!" exclaimed Yura.

"I'm glad you liked it. This is the kitchen; the living room is this way." She pointed to the door on their right. She opened the door and let them in.

"This room is really nice, very clean too." Remarked the doctor as he looked around.

"Thanks. I just finished cleaning it." She said looking proudly at her work.

The room was sparkling clean, the cushions shone a bright red, and the table was a dark brown color instead of beige. The sun's rays shone through the window making the room look very beautiful. Shira gasped an inaudible gasp as she felt tears roll down her cheeks, she quickly wiped them away.

"I-I…will go and make something to drink. What would you like?" she stuttered. The doctor noticed her odd behavior but didn't point it out.

"Coffee would be nice." He replied. Shira nodded and with a swift move left the room. Kanil was leaning on the wall beside the door her arms crossed over her chest.

_"I would give almost anything to know what happened to her in this particular room."_ She thought to herself.

* * *

Thunder: Did everyone enjoy? I'm sure I did. Writing this chapter was fun, don't ask me why cuz I don't know.

Please Review!


	14. Chapter 14

Thunder: Please enjoy! This chapter actually came out longer than expected so I cut it in half and guess what? The other half made an entire chapter on its own!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**Haunting memories**

**Dr. Arisawa and his son came to visit Shira. Shira had just finished cleaning the living room under Kanil's orders. When Shira looked at the now clean room a very old memory showed up in her head after being thrown away in the back of her mind for so many years, the memory made her cry but she quickly hid it and excused herself to make drinks. Now both Kanil and Adam are suspicious.**

_"Why did I cry back there? There is really nothing to cry about an old room."_

_"Then again…It's been so long ago…since I've been in that room…so many memories…" _Shira was having a mind to mind conversation with herself. She didn't notice Adam coming in nor did she realize that her tears were dropping from her chin to the ground.

"Why are you crying?" asked the doctor from behind her. Shira jumped and nearly dropped the sugar jar.

"Don't sneak behind me like that! You scared me!" she gasped as she turned around. Adam kept staring at her his expression didn't show any emotion his eyes however showed much concern.

"You didn't answer my question." He finally said.

"What question?" she asked confused.

"Why are you crying?" he repeated.

"I'm not crying." She answered wondering if he saw her cry back in the room.

"Aren't these tears coming out of your eyes? Or am I mistaken?" he asked this time his expression changed to a really concerned one. Shira noticed Kanil talking to Yura and showing him the forest from the window, clearly she was distracting him from something. Shira slowly reached out to touch her cheeks, they were wet. She quickly wiped the tears away.

"I-I wasn't crying. I…I've just cleaned that dusty old room, all the dust went into my eyes so of course tears will come out. I was just making us coffee what makes you think I would cry for that?" She stuttered looking away.

"You were making coffee…by adding salt in it?" he asked as he tasted some of the spilt grains on the counter.

"That was salt?" she asked herself as she pushed back a loose strand of hair and moved to taste it. _"It really is salt!"_ she thought to herself. _"Great. Now what should I say?" _she thought as she looked at the doctor.

"Why were you crying?" he asked again.

"It's nothing." She lied.

"You're crying again." He pointed out seeing the tears flowing down uncontrollably.

"Oh damn it!" she screamed as she violently wiped them away but new ones quickly replaced them. Slowly she sank to the ground and started to sob. Adam was startled but quickly kneeled in front of her.

"What's wrong? Is it me? Did I do something wrong?" he asked now completely worried. She slowly moved her head side to side.

"No. It's just..." She whispered.

"I…hate that room!" she sobbed out and proceeded to cry. Adam looked at the room she pointed at; Yura was telling Kanil something about the birds that live in the forest.

"Why? What happened?" he finally asked confused.

"Too many memories." She managed between sobs. Adam looked at her unable to think of anything that could help; he can't leave her alone just like that either.

"Shira what's going on? What's all this noise?" said a very low sleepy delicate voice.

Shira's head jerked up, she held her breath in an attempt to stop the sobbing, and she quickly wiped her tears, took a deep breath and stood up with a smile as she turned around to see a sleepy smiling Moon standing by the door.

Meanwhile all the house's occupants were assembled in the kitchen, Dr. Arisawa stood beside Shira and Yura had come out and stood there looking at the girl. Moon noticed the new faces, she was confused at first then she started to back away into her room.

"Moon, I want you to meet somebody." Said Shira with a wide smile as she went closer. Moon noticed her red eyes but didn't say a word; instead she hid behind Shira's leg so that only her head popped out when she turned around to introduce them. Yura did the same, when his father stood in front of Shira he slightly hid himself behind his leg.

"Moon, this is Dr. Adam Arisawa. He's the one who treated your wounds." She introduced. Moon looked at the tall blonde man but couldn't decide what to do next.

"Adam this is Nataly, but we gave nicknames to each other and I called her Moon." She told him with a smile.

"That's why you told me not to call you Abashira anymore?" he asked smiling.

"Yeah. Shira's my new nickname." She said grinning at him.

"Th-thank you for t-treating me." Stuttered Moon in a low voice blushing with a smile. The doctor grinned at her making her hide more than she already had. Moon saw her mother nod at her satisfied.

"And this is young Yura. Dr. Adam's son, he helped with treating you." Shira continued.

Moon poked her head from behind Shira's leg, Yura did the same. They both kept staring at each other for a while. Until a hand rested on Yura's head which made him slightly jump, he looked up to see his father smiling at him.

"Go on Yura. Say hello." He said pushing him forward.

"You too Moon." Said Shira doing the same. Now each of them stood right before the other.

"U-um…Hi." Yura stuttered blushing slightly.

"H-hi." Replied Moon blushing as well.

"You wanna play something?" he slowly asked smiling. Moon blushed even harder and slowly nodded with a small smile.

"Go to the bedroom and play, lots of room there." Said Shira pointing a thumb behind her at the room. They both nodded and walked _very_ slowly to the room.

When they reached Shira Yura noticed the bed, he grinned a very wide grin as an idea hit him. He grabbed Moon's right hand, the one _free_ of gyps and ran into the room with Moon slightly tripping behind him with a smile, she was having fun.

"Come on! I know what we can play!" He said from over his shoulder, Moon barely nodded and they went inside the room and closed it.

"Yura I hope you don't cause her to break another bone." His father warned from behind the door.

"No I won't! Promise." Yura yelled from the other side. Moon's giggles could also be heard. Shira and Adam stood there listening to their whispers and their giggles which slowly turned to laughter, they both relaxed.

"Do you still want to talk about it?" Adam asked.

"Hm?" Shira had no clue as to what he was talking about.

Adam was reluctant to tell her but Kanil was making him signs from behind Shira that looked something like _"Do it now or I'll come and haunt you at night!"_ it was hard to make out because he had to read her lips.

"Talk about what?" Shira asked putting her hands on her hips.

"About the room, do you still want to talk about why you hate it?" he explained.

"Yeah sure, I was planning on telling you everything once you come here, the kids are far away so I'm expecting you to tell me everything too." She said eyeing him. He thought about it for a moment and slowly nodded.

"Then go to the room while I finish the coffee." She said going to the counter but Adam put an arm to block her.

"Oh no you're not, not without me making sure you don't put anything wrong _again_." He said grinning at her. She only gave a 'humph!' and continued to make coffee with Adam watching her. Soon after they were sitting on the red cushions.

"Who starts first?" asked Shira.

"You do. I'm not the one who's so upset as to start crying." He answered.

"Like you never cried whenever someone's not looking." She teased crossing her arms over her chest.

"Just start talking." He said looking away annoyed. Shira chuckled.

"Well…to tell the truth, I don't really remember what happened in this room." She said looking at every inch of the room.

"There has to be a reason that you _do_ remember. Otherwise you won't be crying like that." Said Kanil.

"I'm not sure…" said Shira crossing her brows deep in thought.

* * *

Thunder: Hope you enjoyed!

Please review!


	15. Chapter 15

Thunder: Have fun reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**History**

**"Well…to tell the truth, I don't really remember what happened in this room." She said looking at every inch of the room.**

**"There has to be a reason that you **_**do**_** remember. Otherwise you won't be crying like that." Said Kanil.**

**"I'm not sure…" said Shira crossing her brows deep in thought.**

"Maybe we need to follow it from the beginning, why do you live alone in a house in the middle of the "cursed forest"? How long have you been living here? Were you always alone? What brought you here in the first place? Things like these…" he suggested.

"Okay slow down, one by one. First, I'm not completely alone, Sun was always with me."

"Who's Sun? You have very weird nicknames."

"Me Sun." said a deep voice from behind him. Adam looked back startled and only got shocked even more for Sun was mere inches away from his face. The result…Adam fell back on Shira.

"Told you you're a scardy cat." She sighed smiling down on him. Adam blushed and got up quickly clearing his throat.

"This adds to the questions, WHAT IS THIS THING AND HOW DID IT COME TO BE BY _YOUR_ SIDE?" he yelled. Shira had to cover her ears.

"I'm sitting right beside you, there's absolutely no reason to scream!" she hissed at him.

"Sorry." He cleared his throat as he took a _better _look of the ghost.

"Sun is a soul reaper, and the story of how we met was a long time ago when I was still a kid." She explained. Adam nodded for her to continue.

"Okay…what are you suggesting? That I tell you my entire life story?" she cocked her head at him.

"Why not?" he counter asked grinning. She only huffed then nodded.

"Right, first I was born in an area very far away from here, a rocky mountain area, there was a valley between the tall grey mountains and that's where we, I lived in. It was also a graveyard for many ancient warriors some of them were criminal's dead bodies too, that's where I met Sun there were thousands of soul reapers in that area, mostly because they were banished by other souls because they were very unwanted, hated and feared."

"My parents were divorced and I lived with my mother, to tell the truth she wasn't really what you would describe as the nicest mother, I was alone…at school no one talked to me, they hated me, even ghosts and spirits hated me, shunned me because I live with the evil soul reapers. I don't blame them, soul reapers were evil spirits, and they would gladly kill you in order to eat your soul. I had to protect my spirit from them or else I would have been dead long ago. One day they beat me so bad I could barely move, they were just about to suck out my soul when Sun came and stopped them."

"He fought with what seemed like the entire graveyards' soul reapers, he fought for a very long time, he didn't exactly win but they just got bored and left us alone. He carried me all the way back to our cottage. When mother saw me she suspected him of doing so, I tried to explain to her what happened but she wouldn't listen, so she sealed away his powers which made it even worse because all the other soul reapers would take that to their advantage."

"After I fully recovered I went out to look for him, I asked the other soul reapers about him after I had given up on finding him. They said that he was a disgraced soul reaper and he lived alone on the highest mountain in the valley which lied just behind our cottage. The next day I packed everything that I needed and went for a climb, of course I didn't tell mother, I was only eight back then."

"It took me about four hours or more to reach the top, I took a break in a small cave, it was that high. When I reached the top there he was sitting on a small rock staring into space, when he saw me coming closer he backed away…"

-Flashback-

_"Hey! Don't go." Abashira called after him but he floated away with every step. She stopped and so did he. Abashira realized that his expression showed fear (since it was hard to read the expressions of soul reapers)._

_"I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to thank you." She said with a small smile. He kept staring at her not moving an inch._

_"I even made you a present! Look." She held up a necklace._

_"Me no hurt." He replied._

_"I know." She said grinning and slowly started to walk towards him, the necklace out stretched from her hand. When she was right in front of him she pushed the necklace into his bony hands. He backed away a few steps startled then looked at the necklace, a silver scythe charm attached to a silver chain. He looked up at the smiling kid._

_"For me?" he asked in surprise. The girl laughed._

_"Yes. Do you like it?" she asked happily. He nodded with a slight smile; no one had given him anything before._

_"What's your name?" she asked._

_"Death." He answered miserably._

_"My name is Abashira." Then she slightly frowned._

_"Hmm…I don't like your name…" she said putting a finger on her chin thinking._

_"Me hate me name too." He sighed his back slumping a little._

_"It's okay, I don't mind it. Wanna play with me?" she asked with a smile her arms behind her back. He smiled back, wore the necklace and nodded._

-End of flashback-

"After a few years I came up with the name Sun because he was always in a happy mood and his smile was so kind and bright. I trained with him on my shamanic powers and broke the seal that mother had put on him and we came to be best friends." She said with a smile.

"Where is this necklace?" Adam asked looking at Sun.

"Here." He replied pulling away his hood revealing his skull then pulled away what covered his neck and a little of his chest (knowing that the only thing left in it is made of bones) then pulled out a chain with a scythe as a pendant.

"Oh." Adam was mere seconds away from screaming but did his best not to.

"What kind of a doctor are you if you're afraid of seeing a hovering skeleton?" asked Shira crossing her arms over her chest. Sun had put back his hood on.

"Are you sure you're a doctor?" she asked daubtablly.

"Of course I'm a doctor!" he snapped. She only chuckled.

"If you lived in a rocky mountain valley then what brought you here in this forest?" asked Kanil who was leaning next to the window with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm getting there!" Shira said annoyed. Then cleared her throat.

"I lived in that valley with my mother, Sun became my one and only friend, things went a little rough after a year from that. When I was nine mother got really sick, I did my best to help her but it was no use, I tried to convince doctors to come and see her but they didn't even bother to look at me, one of them even told me that it was about time she died. I still don't know what mother did to deserve death; sure she wasn't very nice but…why? Anyway, after she died the soul reapers feasted on her soul…I never got to know what she did."

"We went out of the valley and into the village…I had no one to turn to, I didn't know anyone. Then an idea struck me, I lived with my mother but what about my father? Mother never talked about him, even if I asked she would simply ignore me. So, I started to search for my father, I went to all the police stations and asked them to look for him, I asked people around if they've known my father, I did so in every village I went through…it was very hard though, I didn't have that much money and mother never told me anything about him not even his name!"

"A year had passed and I still had no clue where my father was or if he was even alive for that matter. I was about to give up until I reached this city, my body was full of bruises from bullies I've met everywhere, my clothes were all ripped and dirty from falling, I finally passed out in front of some sort of shop, when I woke up I was too tired to even open my eyes there were several people around and I could hear part of their conversation, they were talking about me in very low whispers the only thing I understood was something about giving me as a sacrifice for something or giving me as food for the wolves…something like that. The point was they were willing to get rid of me but without getting their hands dirty."

"Why would they want to get rid of you if they don't even know that you're a shaman? If that can be considered a reason to die." interrupted Adam, he shuddered at his last statement.

"Oh they know without even blinking. When you have a soul reaper as a spirit guardian you need to consider the consequences. Soul reapers, unlike other spirits are very famous for their aura, an aura that's so strong that even normal humans can at least sense their presence or even see their shadow." She explained.

"So what happened next? If you were in such a condition how did you survive death?" asked Kanil.

"Well…" started Shira.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed!

Please review!


	16. Chapter 16

Thunder: I hope you enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Unexpected Encounter**

**"So what happened next? If you were in such a condition how did you survive death?" asked Kanil.**

**"Well…" started Shira.**

"They knew about Sun, they sensed him and the procedures of keeping him away for the while were already taken, I on the other hand was like a toy in their hands, when I woke up one of them somehow hypnotized me, just took over my mind and made me move and do things as he pleased. I tried to resist but that only made it worse and I was too weak, they led me to this very forest and ordered me to keep walking deeper into it. My body moved on its own, I didn't try to resist I had already given up and decided that there was nothing for me to do in this world. I kept walking and walking until I couldn't walk anymore and I collapsed. Sun was released by then and went out to look for me."

"I don't know how long I laid there but I woke up to someone trying to move me, I barely opened my eyes…"

-Flashback-

_The man was taking his usual morning walk through the forest when he came across a girl just laying there on the ground. He slowly approached her and kneeled beside her then slowly turned her on her back. She moaned when he touched one of her many bruises, she was only wearing an old looking, dirty, ripped brown Chinese dress which looked very small on her body, her hair was a mess, she was covered with dirt and she looked much too skinny to the man. He carefully lifted her head and she opened her eyes slightly and looked at him._

_Abashira's vision was blurry, too blurry for her to recognize anything. She saw a figure right next to her, she felt a hand under her head supporting her in a near sitting position, she tried to say something but her lips barely parted and the only sound that came out was a low moan._

_"Don't worry, you'll be safe soon." She heard the figure saying in a very far away tone, at least she could make out that he was a man. She felt an arm slip under her knees then the pressure of the air hitting her body, she moaned slightly for her body was too weak to even bear such normal pressure. The man looked at her very worried and shifted her weight so that he could carry her bridal style. She slowly leaned onto his shoulder and tried to absorb the warmth coming from the man's body, her breathing came as quick gasps , and her body was freezing cold, she slowly fell asleep and her breathing slowed down to soft pants of air. He carefully walked back to his house._

* * *

_Sun in the meanwhile was searching the entire city for Abashira but found no clue as to where she is, her foryoku was very low for weeks and now her aura was barely senseable, Sun could only make out that she was still alive._

* * *

_Abashira woke up under a wood ceiling and on a bed, her vision has somewhat cleared and she could make out her surroundings she tried to move but was still too weak to do so and she moaned a slightly inaudible moan. She saw the shadow of a man coming closer to her and she gasped slightly as he touched her forehead she closed her eyes and stiffened but soon relaxed under his warm hand. She moaned dissatisfied when he lifted it._

_"You're freezing cold. I'll look for something warm for you to wear." She heard him say. For a moment she wondered why his voice showed worry and concern but quickly shoved that away, she should be grateful instead of asking why._

_He soon came back with a green long necked wool sweater; he carefully slipped it through the girl's head and pulled the covers off. She whined when the warmth left her but soon calmed down when the sweater was pulled down and covered her body up to her knees, it was this long, the sleeves were half an arm longer than hers and it was much too wide on her skinny body, she sighed contentedly nonetheless._

_The man slowly pulled the covers back on her and put her onto his lap and embraced her into a very warm hug and slowly started to rub her arms and back in an attempt of keeping her warmer. She gladly accepted it and rested her forehead on his warm chest; all she wanted now was to get warm in any way possible. They stayed like this for a while and Abashira slowly fell asleep again but he didn't mind, he kept her as warm as possible._

* * *

_Sun slowly followed Abashira's aura to a forest and started to look for her there. He reached the place she had laid on but then he sensed another persons aura, it didn't feel bad but he wasn't going to take any chances._

* * *

_Abashira woke up in that bed again, this time feeling warmer and she could move her body easily (considering that she lived a whole year in a body state that was very weak). She turned her head and saw the man sitting beside her._

_"What's your name girl?" he asked softly._

_"Abashira." She replied her voice croaky and slightly vague. He nodded and stayed silent._

_"Do you know where I can…"she tried to ask but he put a finger on her lips._

_"Don't talk and don't push yourself, you need to rest." He said, she stayed quiet for a moment but then she remembered Sun and she abruptly got up and headed to the near window where here backpack was._

_"Where do you think you're going?" he asked sounding slightly angry as he stood up._

_"Thank you, but I have to go look for Sun." she said pulling it on._

_"And who is this Sun?"_

_"He's my guardian spirit." Then she gasped and covered her mouth terrified._

_"I mean, he's my…I didn't say anything I didn't say anything!" she quickly said as the man looked at her with a surprised look and she backed away until she hit the wall._

_"Please don't hurt me I didn't do anything!" she screamed crouching in the corner of the wall tears falling down like rivers to the ground as she covered her head awaiting a very familiar hit, but it never came. She slightly opened her eyes not looking up and gasped loudly as a hand touched her cheek and she jerked away startled and scared._

_"It's okay; I'm not going to hurt you." His soft voice said and he once again reached out and cupped her face in his hands wiping away the tears. She looked up at him confused, no one had treated her like this for a whole year, even her mother never cared when she cried, this was the first time anyone except for Sun cared for her._

_He slowly pulled her closer to him and hugged her taking off her backpack in the process. She was startled for a moment but then she hesitantly grabbed his shirt and started to cry pressing her face deeper in his chest, it came out as small sobs at first but they slowly grew in volume until it could almost be described as screaming, he held her close all the while and slowly rubbed her back soothingly. She eventually calmed down and the cries died out in small hiccups._

_There was a short comfortable silence enveloping them when Sun suddenly rushed through the window looking slightly angry. Abashira heard him come in and quickly spun around with outstretched hands._

_"Sun no, he's okay, he's friendly." She shouted and Sun stopped surprised._

_"He new friend?" he asked pointing at the startled man. Abashira slowly nodded and suddenly felt a huge wave of heat wash through her body and she suddenly felt very heavy and very dizzy._

_"Abashira okay?" Asked Sun startled but there was no time to answer, Abashira had fallen backwards on the man and moaned, the last thing she felt were two pairs of hands trying to shake her awake and then all went black._

_After making sure that nothing was wrong the man put her back in bed. She breathed deep quick pants of air._

_"She has a slight fever but I guess her body is so stressed that it couldn't endure anything else thrown at her." The man told Sun._

_"I told her not to push herself." He whispered to himself and sighed sitting on a chair next to the bed. Sun just hovered in his spot staring at Abashira, clearly he was worried sick himself._

_After a few minutes the man got up and reached out to the door._

_"I'll go and make her something to eat, she must be starving. You watch her and call me if anything unusual happens." He said looking back at Sun. Sun nodded immediately and the man exited the room._

_It took a while but the man came back just in time when Abashira woke up, she looked at him with half closed eyes._

_"Are you hungry?" he asked quietly holding out a bowl of noodles she slightly nodded and he came closer to her and sat her on his lap and put the bowl of noodles on her lap, she was feeling cold again and the warm bowl suited her just fine. The man slowly began to shove the food in her mouth and she gladly swallowed it feeling warmer every time._

_"Thank you." She whispered as the bowl got emptied._

_"You're welcome. Now rest." He ordered, she complied immediately._

_Abashira woke up feeling a lot better than the last time, the man was sitting in the same place smiling at her._

_"Feeling better now? You've slept for two days." He said. Abashira was a little stunned to know that she slept for a whole two days but then smiled and nodded._

_The man was happy that her condition had stabilized; on the first day her temperature was a contradiction between high and low unfortunately so was his blood pressure._

_"Can you help me find someone?" she slowly asked after a few minutes._

_"I think I can but we'll see about that after we get you a bath and do something about all those bruises and swollen parts of your body." He said standing up._

_"I already prepared the warm water; we can start whenever you want." He said and turned to the door which seemed to lead to the bathroom._

_It was only then that Abashira took in what he really looked like, he had the same bright brown hair and almost the same facial features except he had an unusual eye color it was turquoise, a mixture of blue and green, he wore brown pants and a dark red t-shirt._

_Abashira slightly blushed and got up, she couldn't wait to finally get cleaned up. She hissed as she stood up, something has to be done about those bruises._

_The man opened the door and went in; he kept it open for Abashira when she came in limping. he looked at her and watched her movements._

_"You're limping." He finally pointed out._

_"Oh that? That's when I tumbled down a cliff and twisted my ankle, that was about a week ago but I guess it still hurts, I got used to it though." She flashed him a smile and he looked suspiciously at her._

_He sighed and knelt down in front of her, took off the sweater and put her inside the tub; she winced when he touched her swollen body but kept quiet. She sighed a loud content full sigh as the warm water was poured down her body taking down all the dirt with it. The man started to gently rub her head and body with soap; she closed her eyes and relaxed when she suddenly remembered…_

_"What's your name, mister?" she politely asked._

_"Lao." He said with a smile as he wrapped her in a towel._

_"Can you help me look for someone now, mister Lao?" she asked again but hissed in pain as he lifted her._

_"Not until your body fully heals, who are you looking for anyway?" he asked as he reached the bed and set her down._

_"For my dad. He's the only family I have left now." "If he didn't die yet." She mumbled looking away disappointed. Lao slightly heard that and he understood that she was desperate._

_"What happened to your mom?" he asked as he started to dry her._

_"She got sick and died a year ago." She shrugged._

_"Do you know anything about your dad?"_

_"No. Mom never told me anything about him, not even his name. When I asked around for him I had to describe my mother and ask them if they knew her husband but no one knew." She grumbled._

_"So how does your mother look like? Pretty much like you right?" he guessed but she shook her head._

_"We have absolutely nothing in common, that's why it was so hard to describe her. The only thing that I have similar to hers are my eyes." She said as she pulled on the dark green shirt and beige pants he gave her then she stopped abruptly and looked up at him inquiringly._

_"I went and bought some clothes your size when you were asleep." He smiled sheepishly at her, she smiled back._

_Lao looked at her eyes carefully, he knew he saw them somewhere and he was also got divorced after his daughter was born, and Abashira looked just like him, it all fit!_

_"I'll go get some ice packs and some other things for your ankle." He said and exited the room. Abashira sat down on the bed and waited for him. It didn't take long for him to return he sat down on the ground in front of Abashira and handed her the ice pack and told her to put it on her worst bruise on her left arm then proceeded to treat her ankle, she pulled it away with a yelp as he touched it._

_"It's been like this for a week so it will hurt at least twice more than it should. You need to endure it for a while." He said and tried again. This time she held onto the mattress and bit her lip, soft moans escaped her when he pressed too hard. Soon he was done and she carefully tried to stand on it, it was a lot less painful now. She smiled at him and gave him a hug. "Now how will I tell her that I'm her father? I'm not sure how the outcome will be, what if…" his thoughts were racing to find a proper way but he gave up and crouched down and held Abashira's shoulders._

_"Abashira this might sound weird but…I'm your father." He said looking into her eyes. Abashira froze for a moment. "How? Could he really be…? He does look a lot like me…" then her face lit up in a huge grin and she jumped over and hugged him laughing, ignoring the pain._

_"YAAYY! DADY!" she laughed out happily. Sun danced around happily as well. Lao was startled for a moment then hugged her back happily._

-End of flashback-

"And that's how I ended up in here." Shira shrugged.

"That's still no explanation of why you hate this particular room!" Kanil said annoyed.

"Yes, but I think we are getting closer." Responded Adam. Shira nodded.

* * *

Thunder: Hmm, this flashback covered the whole chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed.

Please review!


	17. Chapter 17

Thunder: New chapter, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Humans Are Monsters**

**"And that's how I ended up in here." Shira shrugged.**

**"That's still no explanation of why you hate this particular room!" Kanil said annoyed.**

**"Yes, but I think we are getting closer." Responded Adam. Shira nodded.**

"After I finally found my father everything went nice, he used to play with me and train with me, I never left his side. We always sat in this room and talked and laughed and practically did everything! He used to carve me lots of puppets to play with, he showed me how things work in this house, all the secret passages and basements and every hidden room in it. I used to love to play hide and seek with him, but you end up in a maze if you wander off too far. When it came to school, he would help me with things that I didn't understand, anything any normal father would do. The thing is, I never had a normal childhood, I had to rely on myself ever since I was born, and when I finally found someone who cared about me I just couldn't help but act as a five year old instead of a ten year old." She smiled sheepishly at them.

"That explains a lot." Said Adam crossing his arms and nodding. Shira looked at him a little annoyed.

"So it went on like this until I reached the age of thirteen, Dad didn't change at all and neither have I. On my fourteenth birthday, he gave me this bracelet." She held up her right wrist to show them the silver and black bracelet.

"I wasn't really the black type, so at first I didn't really like it, but I wore it to please him and eventually I grew to love it. A week had passed and he told me that he heard people talking about something. He said that people all over the world are willing to get rid of every person who has supernatural powers. The attack was going to be held the next day." She said as her expression went grim.

"I remember that too, my own parents were killed in that raid, I was twenty eight back then, Yura was born two weeks before the raid started, and they came in barging through the doors and killed her, right in front of me. A shot in the heart from across the hall, they surely had good snipers hired for the task. I hurried and took Yura out of our house; I barely made it out of there. Of course, I was shot in several places but it was not fatal, I hid somewhere in the farthest western part of this forest, in a cave, and waited for the people to go away. Once they did, I slowly found my way back to the house, her body wasn't there anymore, after things calmed down I went to see what happened after all of this. All I found was a pile of bodies burning in the sunset, she was in that pile, and I saw her face as it hid behind the flames. I went back home and vowed to protect Yura with my life, I never once left him somewhere alone, and there was no one to trust back then. Now, things have changed, to the better I hope, he's starting school this year and I hope he doesn't get into any trouble." Doctor Adam told his part of the story; tears fell down his cheeks as he clenched his hands into fists. Shira and Kanil looked away sadly; they knew the pain of losing their loved ones.

"She was your wife that you loved, the one in the picture frame, right?" Shira finally asked. He nodded.

"She was beautiful." She said with a smile remembering the woman's pure blue eyes and long black hair. Adam smiled at her and nodded.

"Yura has her eyes." He said.

"I've noticed." She replied.

"No, we were more prepared. Dad had bought food reserves that would be enough for at least two weeks for two people, but that wasn't his plan." She whispered the last part.

"He put all the food and water in one of the secret basements, one that I never knew it existed. Then he settled me inside it, gave me one last hug, kissed me on the forehead, handed me several candles and lighters, he lit one for me then left the basement and locked it with a spell that would last for about ten days."

"I stayed there, a minute felt like eternity, time went by very slowly. For hours, all that filled my head were thoughts of what might happen, eventually I got tired of that and looked around. The basement was filled with all sorts of weapons, swords, spears, bows, shields, anything you could think of! To make things worse, the basement looked just like a never ending hall, I tried to see the end of it, but it kept going on, the halls were so dark and the shadows cast by the candles light gave the impression of a haunted house, it freaked me out, so I hurried back to my original place, Sun went out of the basement every fifteen minutes to check on the situation then came back to tell me. Nothing happened for at least three or four hours, the first candle had reached its limit and I went to light another one, that's when I heard a loud crashing sound from above, the attack had reached us. I was paralyzed at the spot and couldn't move, I heard people talking and shouting then I heard dad's voice. All of a sudden a loud crash could be heard just above us, me and Sun, then I heard screaming and yelling and it all resounded across the basement. I was too scared to understand a word they said, I was shivering to the bones all the while, until I heard footsteps running out of the house. It was quiet for a very long while, I had recovered from my fear and had waited for Dad to show up, but he never did."

"Curiosity had always been my weak spot; dad didn't exactly know that, and I've already figured out how to break any kind of spell by now. I went over and climbed the ladder, and then I easily broke the spell and opened the trap door. Believe me, the thing I first saw…it nearly gave me a heart attack." She tried to joke but failed miserably.

"What happened?" asked Kanil. Adam looked at Shira wondering what happened. Shira lowered her face so that neither of them could see her face.

"He was laying there, not moving at all, with four stabs in his chest, blood dripped down the basement's entrance, I froze staring at him in horror. Not a minute after, I heard footsteps coming closer; I panicked and quickly wiped away the blood that fell down and closed the trap door. It wasn't going to help anyway, they will surely see that the blood had stopped in a place but they didn't come close to that. I covered my mouth trying not to scream and I waited for them to leave, they soon did and I took another peek outside the basement, dad's body was gone and instead was a trail of blood leading out of the room. I heard one of them telling the others to search the house for any others; they knew he had a daughter. I heard them finally leave after a long time, but I didn't dare to come out again. I couldn't even protect myself, sure, dad taught me many new ways to fight, but that was hardly enough against all those people."

"I stayed in the basement until all the reserves ran out, that was after about four weeks, so I stayed there for a month, and I quickly took a bath, happy to finally clean myself. After that, it was back to my _normal_ life of depending on myself, but it's been the most wonderful four years of my entire life." She sighed smiling slightly.

"After that, whenever I enter this room, I remember all the good things and bad things, I used to cry a lot and dad always hugged me until I stopped. I used to love this room, but now it's become my worst nightmare, I just hope I can give Moon all the happiness she needs." She sighed, then she started to sob, she tried to hold herself but then Adam held her in a comforting hug. She was startled at first, but the feeling took her back to that time and she started to cry.

"Seven years…things have changed." Sighed Kanil.

"What happened to you?" asked Adam as he rubbed Shira's back.

"Not much." She shrugged. "We hid in the rough mountains for a week or so." Adam nodded.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Please review!


	18. Chapter 18

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**What Were The Kids Doing?**

**"Come on! I know what we can play!" Yura said from over his shoulder as he pulled Moon. Moon barely nodded and they went inside the room and closed it.**

**"Yura I hope you don't cause her to break another bone." His father warned from behind the door.**

**"No I won't! Promise." Yura yelled from the other side. Moon's giggles could also be heard. Shira and Adam stood there listening to their whispers and their giggles which slowly turned to laughter, they both relaxed and went to their business.**

"You're dad seems nice." Giggled Moon.

"He's very protective; sometimes it gets on my nerves." Yura said turning to her.

"Yeah, I know. Mom used to do the exact same thing."

"Nice room, very big." He said looking around. Moon nodded.

"Do you have any games? Toys?" he asked looking at her, she blushed and shook her head no.

"No problem. We can play tons of stuff in here." He said, Moon smiled.

Yura went to the bed and pressed the mattress, Moon looked at him confused.

"It's perfect for jumping!" he exclaimed looking back at her. She knew what he was up to and walked towards him as he took off his shoes, and she was glad to join him. They both stood on the bed and started jumping on it.

"Fun, right?" Yura asked laughing.

"Mom never let me do things like this." Moon said giggling.

"Same with dad. If he knew I was doing this, he would probably kill me." He said laughing. Moon laughed back. They kept on jumping and laughing for a long time until they were out of breath.

"Okay, that's enough. Dad might've heard something." Yura said huffing.

"…_huff_…Yeah…I'm finished too." She said huffing as well.

"I didn't say I was finished! Look, I have plenty of energy left." He said running around the room. Moon laughed and patted the spot next to her for him to sit, he did. A high pitch shriek could be heard after a few minutes. They both looked at each other, Moon went a little pail.

"That's dad, no doubt at that." Yura said tonelessly.

"What happened?" Moon wondered.

"Probably nothing. Dad gets scared of almost everything that comes and surprises him." He shrugged. Moon relaxed and giggled.

"He really is funny." She managed between giggles. Yura sighed and nodded.

"Where do you live?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"We live in this forest not far away from here, a huge white house with lots of windows and rooms." He said describing it using his arms.

"Sounds nice, our house was all dark brown and black." She said.

"Hey! Do you like animals?" he asked looking excited.

"Sure, why not."

"Then you should come and visit us sometime so I can introduce you to Seriou." He was all excited.

"Who's Seriou?"

"She's my pet dog; she's the best dog you could ever have."

"She sounds nice." Moon giggled.

"She is. I play with her most of the time and she even gives me rides on her back, I'm sure she'll give you rides too, once you she gets to know you better. She's huge, her back reaches to my head, she's taller than me!" he said standing up to demonstrate his length, he was slightly taller than Moon, she would reach up to his nose.

"Wow. She really is huge." She said amazed.

"Yeah, she's my only friend." He said sitting back beside Moon.

"I don't have any friends." She said grimly, lowering her head.

"What do you mean "_You don't have any friends"_? What am I then?" he asked nudging her slightly with his elbow. Moon looked at him surprised, then smiled and blushed.

"How old are you?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Five. Why?"

"Hah! I'm seven, and that means I'm older than you." He said pointing at Moon.

"So? Why does that matter?" she asked giggling.

"Oh, it matters a lot; because that means you're gonna do everything I say." He said with a smug smile as he crossed his arms over his chest. Moon just smirked at him.

"And the first thing I tell you to do, is to sit there and don't move." He said not looking back as he walked towards the closet. Moon didn't mind, but she was wondering what Yura would be looking for in Shira's closet. He soon turned around after he rummaged in the drawers wearing two different colored socks on his hands, one was black and the other was brown, he then pulled the chair in front of Moon so that the back of the chair was facing the window, then sat down behind it.

"Look, the black one is Seriou, and the brown one is you." He said showing her his hands.

"I don't like brown." Moon said with a frown. Yura looked at her and pouted.

"Fine." He muttered getting up, and went to find another sock.

"Do you like white?" he asked as he rummaged through the drawers.

"No." Yura looked harder.

"Yellow?"

"No."

"Red?"

"….."

"I'll take that as a no." he rummaged some more.

"Blue?"

"…sure." She finally said. Yura sighed, wore it, and turned around.

"Okay, again. Seriou is the black one, and you are the blue one." He said shaking each one as he called it out.

"We rarely get any visitors, but when we do, Seriou has a very special way to greet them." He said as if telling a story. Moon watched closely as he started to move the socks around.

_"Hello." _He said in a high pitch sound trying to copy Moon's voice. Moon couldn't help but giggle.

_"Ruff!"_ he moved the sock resembling Seriou and made sniffing sounds when it came closer to the one resembling Moon.

"You mustn't get scared, or else she'll start barking at you. _Ruff, ruff, woof_" He warned.

"So you stand still, until she makes sure that she can trust you. The next step is to give her your hand, if she licks it that means you're officially her friend and can pet her as much as you want." He said taking off the socks and coming closer to Moon with a wide grin.

"Do you know what comes next?" he said as his grin went wider. Moon shook her head slowly, backing away slightly.

"She tickles you!" he said jumping at her, and started to tickle her sides. Moon laughed and rolled on the floor, until she had no air left.

"Okay, okay, stop!" she managed between laughs. Yura let go laughing as well. They both sat there Moon was gasping for air.

"Wanna play catch?" Yura asked after a few minutes, Moon nodded. They both stood up and glared at each other with a smirk on each one's face.

"I'll catch you in five minutes." said Moon.

"Only five? Hah, I'll catch you in two minutes." Yura challenged.

"So it's a bet?" said Moon with a competitive tone.

"Yeah, the loser must visit the winner next time, okay?" Yura made the bet and Moon nodded in agreement.

"The one who catches the other within five minutes or less is the winner." She put down the conditions.

"How do we know the time?" She asked.

"I found a stopwatch in the drawers." Yura said going to get it.

"It's cool, not like the other stopwatches I've ever seen. You can set the time for as much as you like and it will work on its own." He explained pulling out a round bronze watch with many buttons all around it.

"All we need to do is to put the timer on five minutes, and it will count backwards for us." He said as he set it on the nightstand and started to press some of the buttons.

"That's cool." Moon said in amazement.

"Okay, ready?" he asked. Moon went and stood on the other side of the room, once Yura pushed the start button, the big bedroom transformed into a huge semi-marathon field. Both Moon and Yura ran at and from each other, until Yura finally jumped on Moon making them both fall down laughing, then the watch rang, signaling the end of the tiny bet. Yura had won in four minutes, fifty five seconds. Then the door flung open and they both froze trying to anticipate the two adult's expressions. It was Shira and Adam, the two teams stared at each other for a while, and then Shira glared at them with a smile and put her hands on her hips.

"Had fun when we were away?" She said. Both Moon and Yura slowly stood up and grinned at her with a nod.

"It's time to go Yura." Adam said. Yura's shoulders slumped to the point he was almost bending.

"What? Dad, we just got here!" Yura complained. Moon giggled covering her mouth in an attempt to muffle the sound.

"We'll be coming here again, don't worry."

"No way! Next time they're coming to visit us." Yura protested and everyone laughed.

"Yura, it's rude to force people into visiting you." Adam's voice had a slight pinch of anger in it.

"It's okay, Yura. We'll come by as soon as Moon gets better." Shira interfered.

"But I'm better already." Moon protested.

"Not yet." She shook her head smiling.

"A few weeks more, okay?" she added softly.

"Fine." Moon sighed. And with a few goodbyes Yura and his father made their way back to their home.

"Our friends are getting more and more, aren't they Sun?" asked Shira with a smile. Sun nodded happily as they all watched the two's retreating backs.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed. The next chapters will be less frequent because of the nearing of school...aaand because I have Tennis training till then. :)

Please review!


	19. Chapter 19

Thunder: Have fun! _Italic writing represents character's thoughts and points of view._

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**A Reasonable Reason To Laugh**

After Yura and Adam left, all the stress from jumping and running around started to show on Moon, soon after lunch she went back and slept for the rest of the day.

After two weeks, Moon stopped sleeping most of the time and they finally went to visit Adam's house. Both Moon and Yura were jumping in excitement when they heard the news; Adam and Shira made it a surprise for both of them.

The house barely came into sight, when Yura popped out running towards them; Adam followed him too in his own pace. The gyps on Moon's arm was no longer needed, Yura grabbed her and ran off in the direction he just came from, they both laughed and ran, until Moon stopped abruptly and gasped. The house was huge, and the view from over the small hill which led to the tiny meadow made the scene even more beautiful. Yura smiled at her and pulled her to come closer, they ran, but not as fast, Moon was still gaping in admiration at the view.

When they were a few running steps away a huge black dog appeared from behind. Yura stood and waved at it, Moon knew that this was Seriou. The black dog came running then stopped when it was a few inches away, she looked at Moon for a few minutes then slowly came closer and started to sniff her, just like Yura told her, she stood still and waited for Seriou to finish. Soon the dog did, it bowed her head low enough and nudged Moon's hand, coaxing her to pet her head, Moon gladly did so and Seriou's tail started to wag furiously and she panted happily all the while, then laid down for Moon to get a clearer image and easier access to what she was petting. The dog was seriously huge, when it lay down on the ground, her head would still reach up to higher than Yura's head with a few centimeters.

Seriou had very soft black fur and bolt yellow eyes which added to how fearsome she would look to strangers, but Moon knew how good of a dog she was, Yura had come by the other day and told her everything there was to know, she could barely stand still when all she wanted to do is hug the dog.

Moon had to kneel down in order to scratch the black dog's chin, Seriou's tail wagged even harder and she panted again, letting down her slimy tongue and showing off her big teeth. Moon couldn't keep away much longer and hugged Seriou, Seriou pulled away slightly and started licking Moon's ear, Moon let go laughing as she wiped her ear. Yura came and put his hands on Seriou's back, she sank her head to the ground, that meant that she accepted, Yura smiled and climbed on her back then went as low as her head and held onto her fur, Seriou slowly stood up and started to walk in circles. Moon watched in amazement at how small Yura looked on her back, he then tugged on her fur again and she started to walk faster, then faster, and faster, until she was running and jumping around, Moon got up and tried to keep up with the two but she couldn't. Seriou turned around and walked to Moon's side, who was panting hard; she carefully bit the sleeve of her green, flower decorated shirt and started to pull at it, pulling Moon to stand up as well. Yura carefully got off of Seriou's back and started to pull Moon's arm again, he wanted to show her his house, Moon slowly stood up and started running with him, Seriou running after them.

Shira and Adam walked in their own pace over the small hill, Shira was also awestruck by the wonderful sight, Adam smiled at her and they soon followed the kids inside. The house was huge, a white ladder was placed in front of the main door, leading to a room in the middle of its way to the second floor, the walls were painted a very pail white and the main hall was round and huge, it led to many other rooms.

That's how everything went on for the next two weeks, one visiting the other in every weekend, Yura and Moon were the ones who most enjoyed it, Shira found out that the doctor's six guardian spirits were actually the spirits of dead doctors who had transformed into all sorts of surgery equipment, a couple of scissors, two knives, a needle, and a pair of clamps.

* * *

The day finally came when Moon's wounds had completely closed and right after breakfast it was time for the first training lesson.

"W-wait! I…can't…keep…up." Moon managed between gasps then fell on her knees. They were warming up with a few laps around the house.

"Come on. We only finished ten; we still have forty to go." Shira said as she runed in her spot waiting for Moon to get up. _Shira is training me now, I've never trained before, and she said she would help me with it, but so far…_ (Moon's P.O.V.)

"I want a brake." Moon pleaded. "I'm tired." She whimpered.

"You don't look tired to me. Get up." Shira ordered, with a twinge of anger in her voice, but it couldn't be noticed.

"I don't want to." She nearly yelled, getting angrier by the second as she sat on her knees and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Would you still stop if someone was after you? Or would you keep running even if you can't stand on your feet?" Shira's face was contorted in a slight angry look, her hands on her hips, she had stopped running. Moon was too startled to answer, and Shira didn't give her a chance anyway.

"You were lucky I was there and saved you, otherwise you would've been dead already!"

Moon froze and stared at Shira, her body slumped slightly after a few seconds, and her arms fell next to her as tears started to form in her eyes. She slowly lowered her head, her hair covering her face. _Oops. That came out colder than I meant to. Now what?_ Shira wondered as she bit her lower lip. _I'm such an idiot, a failer, I know nothing about kids, I have no idea how to talk to people, I…_Shira kept cursing herself until Moon finally spoke, albeit stuttering.

"I…I didn't mean to…I…I…" she stammered between sobs as tears fell to the ground. Shira went closer to her, and knelt down so she would be in eye level with Moon. She slowly lifted Moon's head from her chin and looked her in the eye.

"I didn't mean to make you cry." She said in a very soft voice, and then slowly pulled her in a hug. Moon's tears slowly stopped as she rested her head on Shira's chest, only hiccups remained. _I really need another way to get her motivated, or else she will cry everyday…I know! _Shira thought to herself.

"How about we make a deal?" Shira suggested with a happy smile. Moon got used to Shira's sudden mood changes and smiled back.

"What?" she sniffed, wiping away the rest of the tears.

"You still need new clothes, right?"

"Y-yeah." Moon looked confused. _What does that have to do with training?_ She thought.

"Okay, if you promise to train with me in full motivation and with all your strength, I promise to take you shopping every weekend, and I'll buy you whatever you like." Shira said smiling. Moon's eyes lit up like stars, and her smile went so wide that Shira thought her face would be cut in half.

"Yeah, yeah. Deal!" she shouted happily and held out her hand. Shira shook it reluctantly. _Now all I need to do is figure out how to afford all the money for that._ She thought to herself with a nervous smile as she sweat dropped.

* * *

Two years had passed by quickly, Moon became a very strong girl, she was a very fast runner, and though she never really practiced it, she got the main idea of an over soul….and her closet almost burst with new clothes.

The "house to house" visits became more common, Seriou and Moon became very good friends, and so were she and Yura. The three of them played together a lot. Things went nicely, until….

* * *

Thunder: Okay, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's just a few things from here and there; the next one will hopefully be exciting.

Please review!


	20. Chapter 20

Thunder: Have fun!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**School Problems**

**Two years had passed by quickly, Moon became a very strong girl, she was a very fast runner, and though she never really practiced it, she got the main idea of an over soul….and her closet almost burst with new clothes.**

**The "house to house" visits became more common, Seriou and Moon became very good friends, and so were she and Yura. The three of them played together a lot. Things went nicely, until….**

"First day of school! First day of school! Let's eat breakfast." Shira called out, excited more than the usual, she was almost jumping in excitement.

"Stop it! You're making me nervous." Moon exclaimed._ I woke up this morning to Shira jumping around wildly in my room, it's weird to see a person in the age of twenty three do something like that. I got up tiredly and dressed for my first day of school, I was nervous._ (Moon's P.O.V.)

"No need to be nervous, you'll be fine." Shira waved it off.

"I…this is the first time I ever get to talk to somebody my age. I never talked to anyone but Yura." She reasoned.

"That's the point! You need to socialize with others." Shira was all positive.

"I don't know about that." Moon mumbled.

"Oh, come on! Stop being so negative."

"I'm serious. I have no idea what to say. What if they don't like me?" Shira knelt down in front of Moon and pulled her in a tight hug.

"Why? No one is as kind as you are. I'm sure they will all love you right away." Shira said softly, it was in those moments that Moon felt safer than ever.

"You're just saying that." Moon grumbled under her breath. Kanil whispered something inaudible into Shira's ear when Moon wasn't looking, Shira whispered something in return.

"Don't forget I'll be with you." Kanil appeared on the other side of the room holding her arms under her chest while leaning on the wall.

"It's weird to have your mom watching you at school." Moon said smiling apologetically.

"Just for today?" Kanil made an innocent look. Moon smiled at her mother

"Alright." Kanil smiled happily.

"Now I have all your school uniform nice and clean, don't go and mess them up. We'll have breakfast then walk to school, okay?" Shira said as she rearranged Moon's dress, Moon nodded.

Moon's school is a private school and it has its own uniform, white t-shirts and black dresses. Right after breakfast they walked to school, on the way…

"Don't talk to other classmates until class is over. Don't throw anything on the ground. Never start a fight with anyone of any age. Be nice to everyone you meet. I made you sandwiches for lunch, it's in your bag, and it's enough for at least ten people so you can share it with your new friends. Oh! Make sure to make tons of new friends, okay?" Shira went on like this until they were inches away from the forest's entrance/exit. Moon listened to every word; she was surprised that Shira could actually talk that much, much to her surprise that she understood everything she said, except for one…

"And the most, most, most important thing for you to remember is…" Shira was making it exciting and Moon was anxious to know what that thing was, until the words slithered out of Shira's mouth in a very weird way, it made it weirder when she abruptly stopped, knelt down and looked Moon in the eye…

"Never ever say that you're a shaman. Never talk to ghosts and spirits while people are around, and never say that you can see them." Shira said that slowly so that Moon would understand every word she says. It all sounded more like a warning than an advice.

"Why not?" Moon's confused voice matched her expression.

"Not everyone's a shaman." She explained.

"I know. You and mom already told me that before."

"They can't see spirits." She continued.

"I know."

"Some don't even…believe in them." Silence met those words.

"Huh?" was all she could muster.

"Yes. Some people don't believe in spirits, and others think people who do are strange." She slowly explained.

"Why?"

"It's hard to believe what you can't see, sweetie." Shira looked at her apologetically.

"M-maybe…but!"

"Look sweetie, I don't want to make you more nervous than you already are. Just be your cheerful self and ask them about what they think of ghosts. Maybe they do like them and I'm wrong. If so, you can tell them anything you want, okay?" Shira said softly with a smile as she caressed Moon's cheek.

"Yeah. I…guess I can give it a try." Moon slowly replied with a tiny smile.

"That's the spirit! Let's hurry up, we're late." She said in an enthusiastic rush and they both ran towards the new school.

First class session…

Moon reached her classroom five minutes before the teacher entered. She was still panting softly after all the running she did, the run across the city was quite enough, the run through the maze shaped corridors was even worse, until she found her classroom, Shira's words echoed in her mind all the while, she couldn't understand it. She barged in, thinking that she was already too late. The class was filled with children, their attention switched to Moon who stood there and slowly started to blush. Everyone returned to what they were doing after a few seconds, Moon looked around for a seat, the only one remaining was the last seat near the windows, she gulped and made her way there and settled her bag under her side of the desk, a nice sky blue bag with pictures of trees and birds on it.

"Hi." A soft and kind voice startled Moon and made her jump. She looked up blushing to a girl, her long golden yellow hair reached to her hips even if it was tied up in a neat ponytail, she had a fringe that covered her eyebrows, her eyes were a bright yellow, and she had a warm smile on her beautiful face.

"H-hi." Moon stammered blushing even harder. The girl chuckled.

"We're all new here. You seem very nice." She said with a smile.

"Y-you too." Moon stammered smiling.

"What's your name?" she asked, but before Moon could answer, the teacher had come in and everyone scrambled to their seats, no one was sitting beside Moon.

The teacher, a young woman with very short dark brown hair entered the class and stood behind the teacher's desk. She had reddish brown eyes and she wore a plain dark blue secretary uniform. She greeted the class with a warm smile, excitement evident, even if she tried to hide the squeak of joy in her voice as she spoke.

"Okay class, this is the first day of school and we're all new here, including me. So let's start with knowing each other's names, you can call me Miss Carol and I'll be your teacher for the rest of the year, I'm sure we'll be good friends. Alright, let's start from the girl sitting closest to the door, please tell us your name." the teacher's voice was kind and happy, Moon felt more comfortable now. The first girl was the same girl who talked to Moon earlier; she stood up and talked in a most behaved way, she looked like a girl with high manners, she was very pretty too.

"My name is Sarah Johnson." The girl said loud enough for everyone to hear. Her voice was calm, but held back a twinge of happiness. Her eyes were gleaming with joy and her face was decorated with a small smile, even if moon barely saw it.

Everyone stood up and introduced himself but Moon was too busy watching Sarah, the way she talked to her, the way she looked at her with that smile, it reminded Moon of the first time she met Yura. She had a hunch that Sarah and she will be good friends._ I think I'd like that very much. _Moon thought to herself with a smile.

"Yes. Little girl in the last seat near the window, it's your turn." The teacher's happy voice pulled Moon out of her thoughts, it was her turn already.

"Me?" Moon pointed at herself, a little startled.

"Yes. Please, tell us your name." Miss Carol's voice was soft and encouraging. Moon stood up, a little embarrassed.

"My name is Nataly Qui Tong." Moon said. She was already nervous; now everyone turned and looked at her in a very odd way. The teacher looked at her in a blank expression; her warm smile had turned into a slight, unnoticeable frown, as if Moon had pressed the wrong button. _What did I do wrong? I just told her my name like everyone else did. What did I do?_ Moon thought to herself in panic. The teacher's eyes were miserably hiding anger and hate and so were all the other children in the class, some looked angry and others confused. Moon had no idea why, she twitched uncomfortably as she stood there under everyone's watch.

"Yes, thank you. You may sit down." Miss Carol said coldly in a harsh way. She didn't even try to hide it. Moon gulped and quickly sat down right away and lowered her head, too afraid to look at those hate filled eyes, inwardly she was panicking like never before, her hands were shivering slightly as they clenched her black dress, she tried her best to look calm. The teacher cleared her throat in an inaudible way and clapped her hands loudly, witch made Moon jump.

"Alright class, looks like we have some special students this year!" Miss Carol said with a fake wide smile and a fake happy voice. Moon lifted her head slightly, eying her cautiously.

"Little miss Sarah here is very special, I want you to take good care of her. Her father is a well known business man. Now I want everyone to be nice to her and to each other. Everyone, make as many friends as they can. Let the first class begin." She finished with a wide smile. Moon was relieved that she finally took her eyes off her. As soon as the recess bell rang, everyone scrambled out and into the playground, Moon slowly followed, her thoughts still keeping her away from anyone around her. She still didn't know what kind of surprise awaited her.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed.

Please review!


	21. Chapter 21

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Happy**

**As soon as the recess bell rang, everyone scrambled out and into the playground, Moon slowly followed, her thoughts still keeping her away from anyone around her. She still didn't know what kind of surprise awaited her.**

Moon sat on a stone bench placed in front of the wall; she still wore her backpack, why? For no reason. She watched her classmates making friends with each other, kids playing tag, girls playing rope, big boys playing basketball, big girls sitting in a group talking to each other, and many others. Everyone seemed to have fun, they all looked happy, that encouraged Moon. She stood up, took a deep breath and wore the nicest heartfelt smile she could manage, and walked a little around the school yard, looking for someone particular, she was looking for Sarah.

After a while, she finally found her surrounded by a huge number of girls chatting endlessly with her under a small tree, no surprise, she was important after all. Moon had to feel sorry for her though, they looked exactly like a bunch of bees gathering pollen from a Magnolia flower. The picture was so accurate, the magnolia flower is one of the most beautiful flowers with the loveliest smell, which attracts a huge amount of bees, and it has a lot of pollen for them.

Moon suddenly started to feel nervous again and was about to turn around and leave, but a thought came up in her mind. _She came and wanted to talk to me, no one stopped her. Now I want to go and talk to her and no one is going to stop me either._ Moon thought to herself in determination, took a deep breath, drowned all of her nervousness and doubts, and slowly started to walk towards the group with a smile on.

The girls noticed her coming and they all stopped talking at once then looked at her, she looked back with a smile, Sarah smiled back. Moon felt happy and a grin crept to her shining face, but she instantly got goose bumps and that smile faded away as the other girls' cold, emotionless eyes glared at her. Moon stood there for a second, and then decided to keep walking, but in a slower pace, she was still a little far away. The girls abruptly turned around and started to whisper to each other, unfortunately, they suck at keeping their voices down, thus Moon could hear every word. She knew they were talking about her but she tried not to show it.

"Hey, it's that girl." Whispered a girl with short red haired.

"The one that zoned out?" asked a blonde with curly hair that reached to her shoulders.

"Did you see the way the teacher looked at her?" asked a girl with brown hair tied in a short ponytail.

"She's got to be a bad person." The red haired girl said confidently.

"Keep away from her." Warned another girl with red hair, hers was slightly longer and tied in a ponytail.

"Look at those weird black eyes, she's scary." Said the brown haired girl.

"I…let's get away from here girls, lets play somewhere else." Said the blonde shivering.

"Yeah, she's coming straight at us." Said the girl with the red ponytail.

"Let's stay as far away from her as possible." Said the short red haired girl. _Apparently she has a sense of leadership or something._ Thought Moon.

"I think she looks very nice." Sarah finally joined the conversation, shocking everyone. Moon smiled inwardly, she was taking baby steps to listen to the whole conversation. The rest of the girls gaped at her in shock.

"Are you CRAZY? Just look at her." Hissed the short red haired girl.

"Yeah, come on Sarah. I'd rather play with mud than with her." Added the girl with the red ponytail. _Sisters or twins, definitely. _Thought Moon.

"What makes you think she's so bad?" asked Sarah. Moon stopped so she could hear that particular answer. Unfortunately they grabbed Sarah and ran away without answering it. Moon looked down at her feet, disappointed, she went and sat down under the tree and watched Sarah and her new_ friends_ play around the slides, laughing and having fun. Moon hugged her knees and kept watching, she smiled from time to time as she tried to imagine how fun it would be if she could join them, suddenly Sarah looked at her from her place near the far away seesaw, Moon still didn't give up, she smiled shyly and waved at her, and to her surprise, Sarah waved back with a wider smile, then turned back to playing with her new friends_._

Moon relaxed and rested her head on the tree's trunk, took a deep breath and exhaled with a huge soft sigh and closed her eyes. The cool breeze kept passing by, taking away all the tension away with it. _So what if her friends don't like me? As long as I know that someone does, then I guess its fine. We'll be friends very soon; I can feel it, if not today then tomorrow. _Moon thought with a wide smile. She suddenly heard a rustle from the leaves above and a familiar voice.

"Mom?" she asked in a low whisper unsure. No reply.

_"It can't be mom. When I asked Shira about her she told me that she stayed at home." _Moon thought as she pulled out her copybook from her bag which she placed next to her. _I'm not doing anything. Might as well finish this._ She thought and started writing.

* * *

"How did it go?" Shira asked excitedly as usual, almost jumping.

"She almost caught me sneaking." Breathed Kanil.

"Never mind that! Just tell meeee." Shira pleaded, still jumping. Kanil sighed in an annoyed way.

"It seems there is a nice girl who does want to make friends with Nataly, the only problem is…"

"YAY! Moon got a new friend." Shira started jumping around excitedly.

"I haven't finished yet!" shouted Kanil, totally annoyed.

"Okay, okay, what's the problem? You said she wants to be friends with her. What else?" Shira had calmed down.

"It's the girl's friends who won't let her." Explained Kanil.

"Now that's just stupid. Why would they do that?" Pouted Shira and crossed her arms over her chest then let herself fall on the kitchen couch. Kanil sighed.

"I've already told you this morning."

-Flashback-

_"Why? No one is as kind as you are. I'm sure they will all love you right away." Shira said softly to Moon, it was in these moments that Moon felt safer than ever._

_"You're just saying that." Moon grumbled under her breath. Kanil whispered something inaudible into Shira's ear when Moon wasn't looking, Shira whispered something in return._

_~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~  
__  
"Don't say things that might not be true." Whispered Kanil._

_"You never know." Replied Shira after thinking shortly._

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

-End of flashback-

"No, you only told me not to get her hopes up too high." Shira said tonelessly.

"That's because you finished the conversation before it started." Kanil said emotionlessly as she sat beside Shira.

"So what's the reason again?" Shira asked taking a deep breath.

"The simplest way to say it is that she's a shaman. There are more details, of course." Said Kanil.

"I'm listening."

"Well, as the last member of the Qui Tong family, she's probably wanted dead by anyone who knows her last name."

"I worked on that."

"I know, and I really appreciate it."

"What else?"

"Can't think of anything."

"That's it?"

"No…"

"Then say something."

"I will, just give me a second."

"Okay."

"..."

"Well?"

"Nothing yet."

"Well, whatever the reasons are, I taught Moon to never give up on anything she really wants. So if she really wants to be friends with that girl and vice versa, then they will, in time, nothing would stop them." Shira said standing up with a smile. The whole conversation was emotionless, just like its topic.

* * *

"Hey, you're that Qui Tong girl, right?" Moon heard a voice say. She looked up and saw three smiling boys coming at her.

"Hi, we're third graders. Mind if we have a chat?" said the boy standing in the middle.

* * *

Thunder: Moon's surprise will appear in the next chapter.

Please review!


	22. Chapter 22

Thunder: I hope you like it. Now everyone who kept reading my story, I want everyone to tell me what they think of it so far, criticize me, tell me what you like and what you don't like, say whatever you want say!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**A Very Long School Day**

**"Hey, you're that Qui Tong girl, right?" Moon heard a voice say. She looked up and saw three smiling boys coming at her.**

**"Hi, we're third graders. Mind if we have a chat?" said the boy standing in the middle.**

Three boys came towards Moon, the one in the middle had short ruffled up black hair, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his black school pants were a little ripped near the knees, he had his arms crossed over his chest and his voice had a slight twinge of mocking in it.

_That boy came closer to me with a really weird smile, in one glance it looked heartfelt and nice, but if I look closer, it's actually hiding something, something that his eyes were showing clearly, but I still couldn't understand this feeling. They stood mere inches away from me, the one on my right had dark brown slightly ruffled hair that reached to his shoulders and had a plaster bandage on his nose. The other on my left had the same hair length but chestnut in color except it was straight and tidy, he had a plaster bandage on his left cheek. The one with black hair stood right in front of me. I wonder what they want…_ Moon thought to herself.

"Listen up. I know exactly who you are. But do you remember me? I think not." His ocean blue eyes glared at Moon, almost making her drown in them, his words confused her though.

"Remember you?" she asked looking at him closely.

"Not me, but three other, younger boys." He added. Moon stared at him.

"A little older than you." He continued. Moon's eyebrows came closer as she thought.

"In a certain forest." He said, it sounded more of a question. Moon got really confused, if there were other kids in the forest besides her and Yura then she would surely know.

"At night." He continued. "Two years ago." He slowly finished and something arose from the depths of Moon's mind, memories that she didn't and never wanted to remember, Moon stiffened. _He couldn't mean those...he just couldn't, how could he even know? No way, he just can't...can he?_ Moon thought.

"That's the girl?" asked the chestnut haired boy in disbelief.

"I can't believe our brothers died because of her." Exclaimed the brown haired.

"B-brothers? Died?" Those words washed Moon's body with shivers and shudders. _What's this feeling? What exactly happened two years ago? _She kept asking herself. She was still confused, the boys kept glaring at her and suddenly it struck her like an arrow.

"Who are you?" she slowly asked.

"Two years ago, we were playing in the woods with our little brothers…" Answered the black haired boy.

"We were only playing hide and seek…" Continued the brown haired.

"It was our turn to go and seek you see, but then…" added the chestnut haired boy. Moon gulped and shivered slightly, she knew what was coming next.

"We heard our brother's screams instead!" yelled the black haired boy angrily. Moon stiffened eyes wide with horror, she couldn't build up the courage to look up at them, and she had already curled up into a ball without noticing.

"We ran towards the source…" continued the brown haired boy.

"But all we saw were three piles of pure bone…" added the chestnut haired boy.

"And a small girl running away." Finished the black haired boy quietly, his glaring eyes were filled with a mixture of pain, hatred, and sadness. After long minutes of silence passed, Moon finally mustered the courage to speak.

"I-I didn't mean to, I…" she stammered.

"Then why did you do it?" yelled the brown haired boy, it was his turn to glare.

"I…they were chasing me and throwing rocks at me, I was scared and…and I didn't even know what I was doing, it just…just happened." She said in a rush as she closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head, tears slowly forming at the edge of her eyes. Then she heard a faint chuckle.

"Well…hey look at me when I'm talking to you." Ordered the black haired boy, Moon's head jerked up at his voice.

"As I was saying, they must've had a really good reason to do so, don't you think so?" he asked his two companions.

"I think our brothers would never do anything as bad as this without a perfectly good reason." Replied the brown haired boy.

"Yeah, I know my brother." Answered the chestnut haired boy. Moon began to shiver under their glaring eyes, she tried to back away but her back hit the tree's trunk instead, she started to panic.

"Heyyy, relax." Said the black haired boy in a carefree way, his face wore a bright, kind smile and so did the other two. Now Moon was really confused.

"No need to run, I said I wanted to chat." He said as he sat down beside Moon with his legs crossed, his two friends followed his lead.

"W-what?" Moon stuttered.

"Fooled ya!" they all exclaimed in unison and started to laugh, Moon was still confused.

"Huh?" was all she could say.

"We just said what we said in that way to make sure of something." Explained the brown haired boy.

"You're okay, for a little girl." Said the chestnut haired boy.

"And it seems that you regret what you've done." Completed the black haired boy.

"S-so…"

"We wanna be friends with you silly." Said the black haired boy.

"W-why?"

"I don't know, it just struck my mind. Got a problem with that?" he asked playfully.

"N-no…I guess not." Moon stammered.

"Good. My name is Nick by the way; the boy to my right is Jack." He introduced the boy with brown hair, Jack waved with a smile.

"And this is Joe." He introduced boy with chestnut hair, he smiled sheepishly. Moon smiled back hesitantly, she still wasn't sure if she could trust them.

"Now let us show you around." He said as he swiftly grabbed Moon from her right hand, got up and started to lead the way, his friends just behind them. Moon tried to resist but his grip would only get tighter, so she stopped as he talked and walked around so fast that she was almost being dragged by him. Moon was too busy to listen anyway.

_Who are these guys? If what they just said was true, then they would probably want revenge or something...they always do. But they seem so nice...Shira said not to trust people right away, always watch them closely. If I watch closely...it almost seems like he's hiding something, but his smile is obviously fake and his hand is almost crushing my wrist. Where is he taking me?_ Moon kept thinking, two years of going out to the city with Shira was fairly enough for her to know all those things, especially that Shira tells her everything with no hesitation. Kanil would always object but Shira insists that Moon needed to know, she had a point.

"This school is very old and yet very modern." He said as he stopped in front of its gate, he soon started walking next to the wire netting that surrounded the whole school, which gave the school a rectangular shape.

"This school is the biggest school in this city, it takes kids from first grade primary school till the end of junior high school classes, it has a huge playground with swings and slides and anything you can imagine, and it has football, basketball, tennis, and volleyball fields. A huge cafeteria and a library, and thousands of classrooms. Now I'll show you our favorite part of this school, you know how the school is placed so that it would have two closed corners on its side? We call them dead ends and they're the best place for guys like us to hang out, no one bothers us there and we can do whatever we want, but one has a tree and the other doesn't." He explained as he walked towards the school's left side. Moon new that this was going somewhere; no one comes out of the blue, talks to you like that, then simply says that he wants to be friends, there had to be more to all of this.

"Here we are." He said as he stopped his fast pace and went on with a slow one, with each step his grip on Moon's wrist would tighten, until they reached the middle of the so called_ dead end_, that's where Moon couldn't feel her hand anymore, she tried to pull it away but then his grip would tighten again. Moon moaned and tried to push off his hand with her free one but his hand wouldn't even budge, he looked at her with a wicked smile and pressed harder until her white wrist became even whiter, Moon gave a small shriek as Nick twisted her hand and made her fall down in front of him, he then crouched down so he would be in eye level with her, he looked her in the eyes with a mocking expression and put on a wide smirk.

"Did you really think that we want to be your friends? That we forgive you? After what you've done to our brothers? Killer." he said in a low and slow tone, his volume raised with every word, his smirk slowly transformed into a scowl as he glared at her. _Did he just call me a killer? What do I do now?_ Moon thought to herself.

"Every day. You come to this place once everyday, and when you do, we hit you, only one hit, you owe us that. If you tell anyone about this, then both you and that person will be double hit, if that person is in the same place of course, if not, then we just follow you and beat you so hard, that you'll wake up in a hospital, that is if you wake up at all." He finished with a smirk. He was about to give Moon a punch when Jack abruptly turned around, both he and Joe were making sure no one was near.

"Hey Nick, the bell already rang and everyone's inside, if we stay too long we'll get in trouble." Jack nearly exclaimed.

"Fine." Mumbled Nick and lowered his fist. Moon's shoulders relaxed slightly, too soon. Nick grabbed her by the collar and she gave a slight gasp of surprise.

"You'll pay, got it? Here, everyday. No running away, if you do, we'll beat you harder. Understand?" he whispered in her ear. Moon gave a slight nod and he let her go. The three of them ran towards their class, which is exactly what she should be doing right now.

_They sure know how to give threats; they're good at playing bullies, for nine year olds._ Was the first thought that crossed her mind, a tiny smirk made its way to her face. _I guess bullies are everywhere. Oh no I'm late! _She quickly got up, but winced in pain as she pressed too hard on her right hand, it was twisted quite badly and it hurt too much. She got up nonetheless and rushed to her class.

"Why are you late?" Miss Carol demanded as she stood in front of Moon, who was standing in front of the door, hands gripping the side of her dress so that she won't fidget with them.

"I…lost my way." Moon replied, which was half the real answer. The teacher sighed and sat on her chair, her hand on her chin thinking. _Can't really blame her, I almost got lost if I hadn't left the teacher's lounge ten minutes before the bell rang. Then again, why did all her classmates arrive before her? She came alone...so in other words...no friends yet. _The teacher thought, then took a glance at Moon. Moon was glancing on a group of girls whispering to each other, Sarah's group. Like before, they don't know how to keep their voices down. The teacher listened carefully and watched Moon's expression at the same time.

"See Sarah?" whispered the red haired girl.

"Told you she was bad." Said the girl with the red ponytail.

"Nina, Lina, you're overdoing it, she just lost her way. That doesn't prove anything." Protested Sarah. _She believes me? _Thought Moon. _Little Miss Johnson is such a nice person._ Thought the teacher in admiration.

"This is our first day." The blonde reasoned. "Everyone knows that you shouldn't be late to class on the first day, unless her parents were bad and didn't tell her, which means that she is bad too." She concluded. Moon froze at that sentence. _How could she dare to say something like that? _Moon thought angrily, but her expression displayed total sadness.

"Come on Melody, you just made that up." Sarah kept protesting.

"She's bad, I just know it. She scares me." Said the brown haired girl shivering.

"Please Lesa, you're afraid of everything." Sighed Sarah.

"Am not!" Lesa pouted.

"She's bad and that's that." Said Nina with confidence. Her voice left no place for arguments, but Sarah could still push something in.

"Look girls, you know nothing about her, so don't start saying things about her just because the teacher looked at her in an odd way." Sarah said and turned around in her seat. She saw Moon's slight thankful smile and smiled back, Moon abruptly turned around and looked at the teacher. Nina was about to say something to Sarah when the teacher stood up.

"Okay class, let's not waste any more time. Nataly it's okay to be late, I get late sometimes too, so next time just take a shortcut, I'll see you after class, now go and sit down please." She said with a warm smile and a slight wink. Moon slightly smiled, still not believing what she'd just heard and headed to her seat.

"Okay, now who can give me a word that starts with the letter 'S'?" the teacher asked_, and so class went on. It was very easy, to me at least. Shira already taught me all these things, she said it would give me a huge advantage, I'll have more time to concentrate on my training and I'll be able to beat my classmates at school, Shira always looks at everything as if it was a competition. _Moon smiled at that, imagining Shira jumping around excited that she did everything correctly, just like the teacher said. Soon the bell rang and again, everyone ran outside. Moon was about to follow them but then the teacher called to her and she went and stood in front of her.

"Nataly." Miss Carol called out.

"Next time whenever you get lost go to the teacher's room then take a right two times and you're there." She whispered in Moon's ear.

"Don't tell anyone. It's a secret, okay?"

"Thank you Miss, I'll be sure not to be late ever again." Moon replied with a small smile, the teacher smiled back then went and sat on her chair.

"Do you have difficulties finding friends?" she asked after a few minutes. Moon stood there not knowing what to say. _Do I say yes or will she laugh at me for that? If I say no I'd be lying...hmmm. _The answer puzzled Moon.

"Y-yes." She finally stuttered, she still wasn't sure.

"I figured that. Well, keep trying to be nice to them; they might want to know more about you." Said the teacher. Moon kept silent for a moment.

"What do they know about me?" she whispered to herself.

"Did you say something?" asked the teacher.

"Uh, I said that I'll go and try again right now." Said Moon with a wide smile. The teacher froze there for a second then melted into a slight smile.

"Then you may go." She said. Moon nodded her head respectfully and exited the classroom.

"She's not that bad for a Qui Tong. She's very polite, unlike what I've heard." Carol mused to herself as she stood up, gathered her stuff and exited the room herself.

Moon stood there in front of the wide playground, she just stood there and wondered what she'd like to play right now. She finally chose the slide, fun, nice; she might bump into someone and laugh then make new friends. She went there; no one showed any sign of hostility, it was going well so far. She climbed the longest ladder and slid down the longest slide with the most turns and curves, it was fun. _Something's missing...it is fun but, not like before. I slid down one of these slides before, it was super fun, but now it's just fun. _Moon thought.

"Hey girl! Move away or else I might hit you." A boy called out from the slides top.

"Oh, sorry." She replied, got up and patted away the dust on her dress then headed to a free swing, good enough for one person, no one's there right now, perfect. She slowly started to swing back and forth as she watched the boy and his friends laugh and make a snake by sitting behind each other as they slid down.

_Shira was there with me, we were going to the restaurant she worked at, I always came with her and we always pass by a park, it's always filled with kids playing around, I don't know why but, I suddenly felt the urge to go and play too but didn't say anything. When we headed home after shira finished her shift, we passed by the park and all the empty swings and slides suddenly caught my attention, Shira noticed that and told me it was okay to go and play for a few minutes or hours. It was fun because she was with me, because someone was there, someone who cared. _Moon smiled at that. _I'll definitely make new friends who care._

Moon gave a yelp as someone pulled her by the wrist, the twisted one. It was Nick, no surprise at that, he kindly smiled at her as they walked towards the corner again, his two friends tailing them. Moon slightly smirked at his behavior _so that's how he acts in front of everyone? OUCH! _Moon bit her tongue trying not to scream, he was now slowly moving his hand so that it would make Moon's wrist bones grind against each other, it seriously hurt.

"We still have a punch to go." He said with a smile as we reached the place.

"Ready?" he asked. _Like I have a choice._ Moon thought to herself.

_The rest was fairly normal, beside my aching cheek that is. Soon all the classes were over and the last bell of the day finally rang. Everyone raced to the main gates where many parents were waiting to pick up their children. I raced there as well, even if I new that Shira would be late, I wanted to act like anyone else, I don't want to be different...at least, not too different._

_I was the first to reach the gate even though I was the last one who started. The training with Shira surely made its purpose. Shira wasn't there yet, so I sat near the stone column and waited. I watched as every parent hugged his kid, asked them how their day was, how they were, anything any normal parent would ask I suppose. Suddenly a weird sense of loneliness washed over me, the hair on the back of my neck stood up and tears formed in my eyes, I didn't let them pour down, it was hard though, my mind raced back to when I used to be with my own parents, before that night. Even those third graders had someone to pick them up; I watched Nick being picked up by his mother, he had a smile on, such a happy truthful smile._

"How was first day of school Nicky?" she heard his mom ask.

"Oh mom, it was a lot different when Michel was with me, we used to play together a lot." He answered in a really sad voice. Moon noticed that he really wasn't kidding and her heart ached.

"It was still fun." He added quickly with a sheepish grin after seeing his mom's expression, she smiled back and hugged him tightly. They soon rode the car and left.

_How can I blame him? It was my fault, and...What were they doing in the cursed forest in the first place? No matter what I say the truth remains the truth, I killed these boys. _She thought to herself miserably. A few minutes after, the school was empty, even the teachers had left, no one noticed Moon because she was sitting in a well hidden position not to mention her small body was easily overlooked. The place was empty, no sound could be heard. she couldn't hold it anymore, the tears came down her cheeks unwillingly, she hugged her knees and rested her forehead on her knees, she stayed there not moving at all, waiting for Shira to arrive, and asking herself the same question she had been asking the past two years "Why", for two years she hadn't found the answer, and she was too afraid to ask the people around her.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed.

Please review!


	23. Chapter 23

Thunder: Sorry for being late. By the way, I changed (edited) chapter 12, okay? (Only a small part) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**Reason and a Nightmare**

**A few minutes after, the school was empty, even the teachers had left, no one noticed Moon because she was sitting in a well hidden position not to mention her small body was easily overlooked. The place was empty, no sound could be heard. she couldn't hold it anymore, the tears came down her cheeks unwillingly, she hugged her knees and rested her forehead on her knees, she stayed there not moving at all, waiting for Shira to arrive, and asking herself the same question she had been asking the past two years "Why", for two years she hadn't found the answer, and she was too afraid to ask the people around her.**

Minutes passed by like years until Shira finally arrived, panting.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I kind of lost my way. I never came to this part of the city before." Shira apologized with a sheepish grin. Moon was still curled up into a slightly oversized football.

"Uh…so…" she started after getting no response what so ever. Moon's body shivered slightly. Shira was confused for a moment, she knelt down and Moon's body shivered again, this time a tiny sob could be heard, apparently Moon was trying to hide it as much as she could, she was crying. Shira didn't know what to say, she didn't even know the reason why she was crying.

"How was first day of school Moon?" she asked in concern but tried to cover it up. That did it. Moon burst herself onto Shira's lap and hugged her tightly, crying hard. Shira was startled for a moment, then hugged her back and started slowly rubbing soothing circles on her back. They stayed like that for a few minutes, when Shira realized that this was going to take a while; she carried Moon back towards the forest. It was a long walk to the old house in the forest, but Moon still cried, Shira began to worry, the tears didn't lessen and neither did the sobs, she just kept soaking Shira's shirt with non-stopping tears. They finally reached the house, Moon was still crying but less than before. Shira carefully opened the door and sat Moon on the kitchen sofa, Moon's head was lowered and her hair covered her face, she was still wiping away her non-ending tears with her fists but all the effort was wasted. Shira slowly sat on the ground cross legged in front of her, and then slowly stretched her arm towards Moon's face. Moon jerked backwards as Shira's cold hand touched her red hot face, Shira slowly lifted Moon's chin so that she could see her face clearly, her face was cherry red, her cheeks were covered with slowly spilling tears, and her eyes were blood shot red from crying.

"Moon, what's wrong?" Shira asked quietly, concern present in her voice as she looked carefully in the eyes. Moon had a hard time deciding if she should tell Shira or not, should she ask her one of her many questions, or keep them to herself and wait till eternity for someone to answer it for her; she finally made up her mind.

"Why?" she whispered as another sob came out.

"Why does…everyone have to…they all…" she stuttered between sobs as she rubbed her eyes dry then took a very deep breath. She was still confused, about what should she ask her? Shire listened patiently.

"Why do they all…h-have…parents?" she finally breathed out as another storm of tears came out along with many cries as she flung herself to Shira, Shira caught her automatically, her gaze far away and her eyes wide at the realization. Moon kept digging her head deeper into Shira, which caused Shira to bend more and hold onto her tighter. _That hit the nail right in the spot. She was feeling left out all this while?...Then again, she is the only one in her school who doesn't have parents...at least not exactly, and me coming late made it even worse. _Shira thought to herself as a sensation of guilt washed over her, she kept rubbing Moon's back while holding onto her tightly. Shira then looked over at the bedroom's door, Kanil's transparent head was popping out the door, only her head and shoulders had passed through the door, her expression was a mixture between shock, sadness and guilt. Shira knew that she was there in the same position ever since they entered the house.

Shira was still in a daze; Moon's mind was screaming and threatening to explode if she didn't let out another complaint, so she simply screamed them out, startling Shira more than she already was.

"My parents were killed, that I know. What I don't know is WHY?" she screamed into Shira's shirt, some words came out muffled, while others nearly pierced Shira's eardrums.

"You told me everything, you said that you'll protect me, but from what? Who? You never told me anything of the sort!" she screamed out again, this time with cries and sobs interfering as well as she clenched onto Shira's shirt, after that Moon kept quiet and the cries slowly went down. Shira was still startled, her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out, she had a hard time thinking it over. Long minutes of silence passed by, Shira almost squeezed her brain for an answer, Moon already felt satisfied by just letting someone other than herself know that she was wondering too much lately, she simply enjoyed the feeling of Shira holding on to her and rubbing her like that, she felt very comfortable and warm, just like every time Shira hugged her, she felt safe, like nothing would come and harm them.

Shira's hand abruptly stopped and lifted Moon back on the sofa. Moon looked at her, a little surprised.

"I don't know." She said slowly, looking Moon in the eye.

"Huh? What do you mean?" She responded all the tears and anger had already faded away.

"I mean that I don't really know why your parents were killed, nor do I know from what I'm protecting you. All that I know is that I only want you to be safe and happy." Shira replied quietly, looking away.

"But you already did all that, I am happy. So…thank you." Moon said with a happy smile. Shira looked up with a wide grin. _Mood change._ Moon thought to herself with a smirk.

Just then, Moon's stomach started to growl furiously and she blushed. Shira smiled.

"Hehe…I forgot to eat… What was it you made me?" She slowly asked, a little embarrassed. Shira only chuckled and then her own stomach growled and she blushed as well. Moon fell from the sofa laughing and rolling on the floor while holding her sides.

"Hey!" Shira shouted putting her hands on her hips, but Moon wouldn't stop and her laughter was contagious. Soon Shira was laughing as well and she grabbed Moon from her waist and started spinning her around. Moon half screamed, half laughed, she enjoyed the small ride very much. It took them a good five minutes to finally sit down and another ten just to calm down. At the end of it both of their stomachs were screaming for food, giggles were still escaping between gasps.

"I'm starving…What do we have…for lunch?" Moon asked between gasps. Shira chuckled slightly, but it really sounded like she was looking for air to talk.

"I cooked your favorite~" she answered with a merry tone. Moon stared at her and her eyes shined in that special way.

"You mean…" Moon said, getting excited. Shira nodded with a wide smile.

"Yay! Spaghetti here I come! What are you waiting for? Let's get the table ready, come on." Moon shouted happily as she jumped around on the sofa. After preparing the small table they both enjoyed the nice taste of pasta.

"So how was school?" Shira asked as she took a bite. Moon thought for a moment.

"It was okay." She answered, not looking Shira in the eye.

"Did you make any friends?" Moon flinched slightly but didn't let it show, she thought of it for a while.

"Well, I did meet three boys in third grade; they said they wanted to be friends." She answered hesitantly. _Well they __**did**__ say that._ Moon thought.

"Really?" Shira's voice was a mixture of confusion, surprise and happiness. _Third graders with a first grader? Well, you never know what might happen. _Shira thought to herself as she took another bite.

"Y-yeah."

"But there is this girl in my class, she seems very nice. I think she likes me, but her friends don't." Moon said quickly, she wanted to tell Shira about her _real_ friend.

"If she hangs out with such friends, that means she's not worth being your friend." Shira simply said.

"No, no." Moon quickly said.

"She's very nice, unlike them. She even defends me when they start saying bad things about me." Shira smiled at that.

"Then you'll be friends soon enough, you'll see. And remember, never give…"

"Never give up on something you really want. I know, you told me many times." Moon finished for her with a smile. Shira smiled back.

"Why don't you just go and talk to her about it right away? If you don't want to then just give her some time, and I'm sure she'll come to you on her own."

"I'll be patient. But I don't know, she has many friends, why should it be any different if I was or wasn't her friend?"

"Don't be so negative. You're still young; you'll have lots of time to pity yourself when you grow up alone like me."

"You're not pitiful; you're the best person I've ever met!" Shira chuckled at that. Silence filled the room for a while.

"Is it because of me, that you're so negative most of the time?" Shira asked with a slight frown.

"Huh?"

"Never mind." They both left it at that. Soon after they finished their small meal. Shira picked up the dishes and turned on the water, and then started to wash them.

"I wanna wash too…" Moon pleaded beside Shira with the cutest face she could manage. Shira chuckled.

"Get taller first, and then maybe I'll let you." Shira teased. Moon made a face and stuck out her tongue, Shira could only laugh at her.

"Dry the dishes if you want to do something so badly." She said smiling and threw a towel at Moon. It landed on her face instead of her hands, which made Shira laugh even more. Moon picked it up properly and started to dry the dishes Shira handed her, even though they were only a few. Long moments of silence followed, Shira took glances at Moon every now and then, Moon was busy trying to hide the pain coming from moving her wrist. After taking a few glances, Shira made sure that Moon's cheek was swollen and not red from all the crying before.

"What happened to your cheek?" Shira asked out of the blue. Moon was instantly startled.

"Ah, that? I uh…hit the door. Hahaha." Moon said whatever crossed her mind first, she was so startled that she almost dropped the dish she was drying. She covered it all up with a sheepish grin as she put her other hand (with the towel) behind her head. Shira stared at her disbelievingly for a moment.

"But it's only your cheek, not your whole face." Shira pointed out. Moon entered a whole new and higher level of panic.

"T-that's because…because I…I was standing next to the door when…when somebody swung it open and…and that's how it only hit my cheek. Haha, yeah, that's what happened." Moon laughed nervously. _STUPID! Why did I lie? Shira would've surely understood._ Moon thought to herself, feeling guilty about it all, but she remembered what the boys said and she didn't want to know what Shira would do if she found out that they were beating her.

"Uh-huh." Shira didn't seem convinced but didn't say anything else for a while, which helped Moon calm down a bit. _We sure are dropping many subjects today. _Thought Shira.

"Alright, we'll take a fifteen minute break, and then we'll start today's training, okay?" Shira said after an hour of doing nothing but sitting on the sofa.

"Okay." Replied Moon happily.

"After some warming up, we'll start training with the spear. Okay?" Asked Shira, it sounded more of a command than a question.

"Okay." Moon replied automatically. It was then that she remembered her wrist. _It was hurting me all day, even now. Shira didn't seem to notice anything yet, but now she won't be able to miss it. Why did I even agree? _Moon was starting to panic again; she was deep in thought though. _It's better that way. If I refused she would ask why, and I can't lie to her anymore. I'll…_She was pulled back to the outside world by a soft giggle. She looked up at Shira who was sitting next to her.

"What?" She asked confused. Shira was covering her mouth in an attempt to muffle the sound of her laughter, it worked miserably.

"You were so into lunch that you totally forgot to change your cloths." She said and pointed at Moon. Moon looked down at herself and found out that she was still wearing her school uniform. She was on her feet before she could even realize it and ran to her room in the blink of an eye.

"I'll wait for you outside then." Shira called out as she stood up to leave.

"Okay." Moon called back.

After about ten minutes she came out wearing blue short shorts, a sky blue sleeveless top as well as blue training shoes and dark blue wrist warmers.

"Wow! You look like the queen of the skies today. Hmmm, maybe the princess of rivers too. I'm not sure if your black hair and eyes go with it, but you do look pretty." Shira commented. Moon only gave a shy smile.

"Alright." Announced Shira, clapping her hands together.

"We'll start with seventy laps around the house, then about fifty sit-ups that should do for warm-ups. We'll start with the spear afterwards, got it?" Shira explained.

"Yes." Was Moon's firm answer. The fact that there were no push-ups relived her; at least her wrist wouldn't get too strained.

After finishing all the warm-ups, it was time to use the spear. Moon's wrist was shivering, from both pain and fear. Weapons such as spears, tritons, double bladed swords, normal swords and even scythes at some point. They all more or less are based on wrist movements, depending on how the person uses the weapon. That was the first lesson Shira taught Moon when they started training with weapons. And now with her wrist twisted…well.

It was funny though, Moon carrying a spear that is four times her height, but as weird as it may seem, it was the only weapon she learned to use in less than a week, and she's quite good with it too.

"Um…Shira?" Moon asked hesitantly before they began.

"Yes?" Shira replied as she picked out a spear from the ones leaning on the house's wall.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"When I fight…using a spear…and say my wrist got twisted, how will I continue?" she slowly asked.

"Ah, good question. Luckily, I already thought of that before and I mastered how to use both hands in a fight, I can use the spear with my left hand just as easily as I can use it with my right hand. And now I'm teaching you how to do it, from today till a few months ahead, there will be no hand other than your left, you'll learn to do everything with it." Shira simply said.

"What?" Moon was dumbfounded.

"Yeah come on, go and grab a spear from over there and let's start." She said as she went and took her position.

"You never tell me where you keep all those weapons." Moon inquired as she picked out a spear and went to take her own position.

"That's my secret." Shira smiled.

"Is it in one of those secret rooms?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Shira laughed.

They soon started to strike at each other, Shira kept her power in check, just enough for Moon to handle it.

"Hey, it's difficult to use with my left hand." Moon commented after a few strikes.

"Of course it is silly. You know your bracelet? The one you're wearing on your left hand. Do you remember how you attacked me with it?" Shira asked as she stopped swinging her spear.

"Y-yes, sort of." Moon replied. She didn't like to be reminded about that night, even though she hardly remembers anything anymore, just a few details.

"When you attacked, you did it swiftly, accurately, and the most important point is that you did it unconsciously, without needing to think of anything." Shira started. Moon slowly nodded.

"Considering your condition back then, that means you have the ability to do all kinds of things once you learn how. In other words, you have the stamina, agility and accuracy needed to learn many things." Shira clarified.

"Okay." Moon wasn't sure she understood all that, but gave Shira the sign that she was following her.

"We already trained your stamina and agility, all that's left is accuracy. You need to be accurate in using both weapons and hand-to-hand combat. Judging from your previous over soul, it seems that you're more of a close ranger fighter, but if I train you good enough then that shouldn't really matter." Moon nodded. _I think that makes sense._ She thought to herself.

"So I thought that I should first train you on how to efficiently use your left hand and then we can start with weapons and hand-to-hand combat. We'll have to focus on the left side of your body; we don't want it to be weaker than your right. What do you think?" Shira asked, not looking at Moon, but behind her. Moon stood there, she barely understood a word, and Shira was talking way too fast for her to keep up.

"I think it's good." Kanil's voice answered from behind Moon. A huge grin appeared on Moon's face and she turned around immediately.

"Mom!" She exclaimed happily and hugged her mother.

"Hey Nataly. How was your day? How was school?" Kanil asked with a soft smile and crouched down to hug her daughter.

"It was okay." Moon answered, not bothering to remember today's events.

"Moon happy, me happy!" Exclaimed a very familiar deep, husky voice.

"Where were you all this time, Sun?" Shira asked her guardian who hovered behind her.

"Sun go see birdies in tree." He answered pointing at different trees. Then he started dancing around again, they all laughed.

"Okay, the little break is over, back to training." Shira announced. Moon nodded a happy and firm _yes_ and they both continued.

The two girls trained for hours while the two ghosts watched them. They took tiny five minute breaks only to catch their breath and then they would return to their training. They continued like this until the sun's rays were only reaching the tree tops, it was sunset; the sky was splashed with different colors, varying from orange and light pink to purple and dark blue. The four soon entered the house. Both Moon and Shira took a nice warm bath, the beautiful sensation when the warm water touched their skin made them feel so relaxed.

Moon came out wearing a dark blue pajama spotted with various white and yellow spots, resembling the stars in the night sky and on her back was the picture of a bright colored crescent, resembling the moon. Her pajama was a little oversized, the ends of the pants would trail her feet when she walks on the wooden floor, and her sleeves covered half of her hand.

Shira took her bath after Moon, when she came out, she was wearing a pajama that was colored with all the various degrees of green, each color was in a small square, and each square was placed next to another one with a slightly darker or lighter tone of green.

"Aren't we going to the restaurant today?" Moon asked as Shira came and sat next to her on the living room's red cushions.

"No, I took today off."

"Why?"

"I thought I would stay home and arrange things, since it was your first day to school."

"What did you arrange?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to get used to not having you at home all the time."

"Oh." The whole conversation was very slow, everyone was exhausted. Shira abruptly stood up and left for the kitchen without a word. Moon was a little confused, but kept silent; she was too tired to say anything anyway. Shira soon came back with a roll of bandage and a green tube; it kind of looked like a toothpaste tube. Moon was even more curious when Shira sat next to her and reached for her right hand, Moon instantly pulled away and looked at Shira with surprised and very confused eyes.

"I know your wrist is twisted." Shira simply said. That alone was enough to make Moon stunned. Shira reached for her arm again and started to inspect Moon's wrist. Moon would hiss and start pulling away but Shira held her hand firmly, careful not to hurt her at the same time.

"It's not too bad. This should help." She said as she started rubbing some of green gel from the tube on Moon's wrist. It felt very soothing; it made a huge part of the pain go away. Moon sighed slightly as Shira continued bandaging it carefully.

"Listen, I knew your wrist was twisted, and I also know that you lied about your swollen cheek as well." Shira said nonchalantly. Moon was frozen after that.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it now. But know that you're free to trust me with everything that's on your mind, anything that bothers you. I'm always there for you, okay?" She said softly. Moon nodded with a small smile.

"I'm tired." Moaned Moon lazily after Shira finished.

"Me too." Yawned Shira, covering her mouth with her hand as she stretched her other arm.

Moon mumbled something as she leaned on Shira. Shira watched with a soft smile as Moon slowly fell asleep. She then slowly lifted her onto her lap, Moon's head leaned on Shira's chest as Shira started running her fingers through Moon's hair, sighing contently. Moon's eyes opened slightly when Shira did that, then they soon closed again as she took a deep breath and exhaled. After making sure that Moon was fully asleep, Shira carried her back to her bed and pulled up the covers over her. Moon was very fond of the moon, to the point that her bed was covered with stars scattered all over a dark night sky, and the covers had a picture of a full moon hidden between the clouds with a few stars scattered around it.

Shira kissed Moon on the forehead and turned to exit. Moon mumbled something as she turned on her side. Shira turned and took a glance at her; a very soft smile covered her face.

"Goodnight to you too, my little Moon." She whispered and closed the door.

She lay down on the sofa in the kitchen to fall asleep herself. The sofa practically became her bed. She couldn't afford a proper bed, her money was just enough to make a living for her and Moon. Shira's a number one cook at the best restaurant in the city, which sure explained her delicious cooking! The house was silent, not a voice to be heard, Shira stared at the ceiling, thinking things out just like she always does. _Many conversations were dropped today, too much for my liking. I hope Moon is okay. She's still a kid, but she acts so calmly. It's obvious that she's faking it, and that's what worries me the most...Hehe, anyone who saw us eating spaghetti with white sauce would simply say "sure, they like it, why not?" they would never know the real reason._ She smirked to herself. Thinking back to that unfortunate morning, the smirk faded as quickly as it formed. _I really wish she would get better soon. _And she fell asleep.

* * *

In another room, a certain little girl was having a certain dream…

_Moon walks in a very narrow road, the lights were very dim. She didn't dare to lift her head up; she knows who awaits her if she does._

_Suddenly she heard something very familiar, she couldn't help but jerk her head up, and there he was. Standing beside a very old door, a tall man with no clear face. He was always there, always awaiting her._

_"Do you want to see them?" He asked. She knows what's behind the door. She backs away shaking her head no, holding out her arm in front of her face in a protective way._

_The man slowly pushed the door open, and Moon couldn't help but stare horrified at what was inside._

*For those who couldn't bare to read the first 'torture' parts of my story, I really recommend that you skip this little part (Then again, you might find it silly. Your choice.)*

_SSSS (Skip)_

_Behind the door were exactly eight hooks, they were arranged four under four. On each hook, there was something hairy hanging. Moon started shivering._

_One after the other, the hairy things jerked up, they were heads! Each head was fixed on hooks that went right into their necks; the bodies seemed to be ripped off, judging by the ends of the necks' skin._

_The first was her mother's; she glared at Moon hatefully and angrily. Then she screamed a very ear piercing scream and then dropped back down._

_The second was her father's. He looked at her with hateful and miserable eyes._

_"Why did you do this to me?" He whispered as a tear fell down his cheek. Then his head dropped down._

_And so on, one after the other. Shira, Mr. Arisawa, Yura, even Seriou and Sun, and the last one was the least that Moon expected, it was Sarah. Her words were filled with hate; her face was covered in tears._

_"Why do you kill anyone who loves you?" She spat out. _

SSSS *Safe now!*

Moon woke up gasping; her body was covered in cold sweat. She quickly sat up, gasping hard. Each sentence kept ringing in Moon's head, repeating themselves again and again. Each one was painful, but the last was like an arrow in her chest.

After calming down a bit, she got up and slowly walked to the door. It was probably in the middle of the night; everything was very hard to see. She carefully and quietly opened the door, slowly moving out of the room, one step at a time. She tiptoed a few steps, until she was standing right in front of the sofa Shira was sleeping on. Moon kept watching her, not moving an inch, not daring to lift her eyes off her. After she made sure that Shira was still breathing she heaved a huge sigh of relief, albeit as quietly as possible. She always did the same procedures whenever she gets a nightmare. Shira was the only **living **person in this house beside her, and Moon needed to check that tat was still true. She then went back to her bed and cried herself to sleep. The same dream has been haunting her ever since her parents' death and what makes it worse is that it drags every one she meets, and each time it's different.

* * *

While in somebody else's dreams…

_"Why do you still keep that ugly thing?" a woman scolded, her face wasn't showing. It was too high or rather, unclear._

_"I like it." The young girl with about three or four years answered with a smile._

_OOOO (Other place and time)_

_"Hey! Give it back!" The girl yelled as a boy snatched something from her hand._

_"Come and get it." He said and held it high._

_"Ugh, give it back!" the girl started jumping, trying to grab the thing back._

_OOOO_

_"No, don't hurt him!" She screamed as a gang of boys held her down and one was ripping the thing apart._

_"You mean like this?" the boy asked with a nasty grin as he ripped off something else._

_"No." she screamed as tears fell down._

_OOOO_

_"Hey! Leave me alone! Ah!" She shrieked as she fell into a pool of mud._

_"And take this stupid thing with you, little baby." They laughed and walked away._

_"Don't worry. I'll clean you all up." She said as she swam towards it._

_OOOO_

_"Daddy! Remember that?" She said excitedly and held it up with both hands to show him. She wore a huge happy grin on her face._

_"This is...is it really...?" Her father asked disbelievingly. She nodded in response._

_"Mom said that this is what you gave me on my birthday, the day I was born when I was a baby. The day you left us." She explained in a quiet voice, the grin on her face never faded nonetheless._

_"You kept it all these years?" He asked in surprise._

_"Of course dad! What else did you expect?" She said pouting. He laughed and hugged her tightly._

Shira wore a smile in her sleep, at the end of everything, it did work out.

* * *

Thunder: Hey! Very long, I know. Well, I hope you liked it.


	24. Chapter 24

Thunder: Please enjoy! This is my most favorite chapter of all the chapters that I have and will write in the future. I hope you like it just as much as I did.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**The Night Lord And The Sun Goddess**

**After a hard day in school, Moon had a hard time hiding it from Shira. In the end it seemed that Shira knew all along. The day passed and night came, pulling both of them into the world of dreams.**

The next day the forest was awakened by the first golden rays of the morning sun. The dark night sky was slowly fading away in degrees of purple, pink, a slight yellow and finally turning into the crystal blue sky. The birds began to chirrup and the nightingales started to sing their wondrous melody.

Moon awoke to the beautiful music of the forest's orchestra. A wide smile covered her bright face; she quickly scrambled out of bed and ran towards the window. Her smile grew into one huge happy grin. It was the loveliest part of living in the forest, watching. Everyday, every morning, Moon would wake up the very same way with excitement written all over her face. She never got bored, never missed even one sunrise, because if she did, she was sure that she would regret it.

The world's rebirth. That's what she calls it. She watches attentively, each day concentrating on something new, making up questions and trying to find an answer. She watched as the world was reborn again, from the night's darkness to day's light. The slow rise of the sun, as the rays of light move like a wave, crashing everything in its way, thus washing away the darkness and breaking the spell of the night. Splashing paint wherever it goes, the dew drops were like scattered pearls on the grass and leaves reflecting the light, while others turned the white light into many colorful ones, which we know as the rainbow. The scene was one that you would keep close to your heart, every small detail made it look even more spectacular. Most people never see it that way, but it's a beauty of nature, a gift from god.

Moon was standing on her tiptoes and clenching the windowsill so that she wouldn't fall. From outside, only her head would be visible. A small head with very messy short black hair, every hair strand was sticking out in a very weird way, giving it a very nice and natural style. Her thoughts were racing; it has been a very long while since she started this habit of hers. She made many questions, perhaps hundreds or even thousands, some of them were answered, others still awaited her mind to give them an answer, and_ a question_ can't get out without its life long friend _an answer_, right? So far, this is what she figured out…

The night and day are two very different kingdoms. The dawn signals the dark kingdom's demise and the creation of the light kingdom. While the opposite was also true, sunset signals the light kingdom's fall and the dark kingdom's rise. But every kingdom has to have a ruler, right? If the sun could be thought of as the queen, or the goddess of the luminous world, wouldn't it make sense if the moon was the king, or the lord of the dark world? But if you think about it, the two worlds are so different, but there is still a king and a queen, a goddess and a lord.

Aren't they supposed to rule together? Then why don't they ever meet? Then again, they do rule the same kingdom after all _the earth_. Do they take turns? Or do they hate each other all the time? Is that why each leader destroys the other again and again? But which one will win in the end? They fight in every dawn and dusk, one claims victory then the other takes revenge. Who do you think is stronger? The night lord or the sun goddess? When will they stand face to face and say hello instead of goodbye? People follow their ruler, if rulers fight against each other, is that why some people hate others? Is that why most people hate me?

If I were part of this kingdom, then I think I would belong to the night lord's kingdom. I do have black hair and black eyes just like dark colors of the night; does that mean I'm a moon girl? Is it because I was born at night? Then what about Sarah? She has to be a sun girl, her hair is a golden yellow just like the sun's rays and her eyes are a crystal blue just like the day's sky. I'm sure she belongs to the sun goddess's kingdom. But the two of us seem to like each other; does that mean that the moon and sun like each other too? If I was going to be Sarah's friend, then will the king and the queen be friends too? I wish that happens soon… Do people get distributed by hair color? Is there a fire and earth kingdom that I've missed?

A knock on the door pulls her out of the puzzling maze she was in.

"Come in." She called out, not taking her eyes off the scenery. The sun was just above the tree tops by now. Moon knew who was behind the door; she turned around with a happy smile as Shira came in.

"Good morning, my little Moon." She said softly.

"Good morning." Moon replied happily. Shira went and opened the cupboard; she went through all the drawers, apparently looking for something. Moon's head popped out right behind her shoulder, trying to see what was going on.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

"Looking for something." Shira replied.

"Oh."

"What are you looking for?" She asked after a minute of silence.

"Found it!" Shira said as she held up a small rectangular box triumphantly.

"What is it, what is it?" Moon was about to burst in curiosity.

"I remembered it last night, dreamed of it actually."

"So what is it?" Moon cried, sitting on the floor next to Shira. Shira blew away the dust that was on the box, and then brushed off the remaining grains. Carefully, she opened the very old looking box, revealing a white gray thing. She took it out and wiped some dust away.

"What is it?" Moon repeated.

"It's a small stuffed animal my father gave me when I was born. I always kept it beside me; I don't know why I forgot it there. I guess that dream told me to go get up and bring out the past." She explained and showed Moon the little stuffed animal. Moon carefully took it from Shira's hands. Shira watched with amusements as Moon, with her natural childish curiosity, looked wide eyed at the small toy.

It was filled with stitches; there were some patches of stain on the grey fur-like cloth. It had two ears sticking out, a long snout showing a nice smile; it also had a cute ruff tail. It looked very much like…

"Is it a dog?" She asked looking up at Shira. She smiles at her and shakes her head.

"No, it's a wolf." She answered.

"How can you tell?" Moon asked and started looking at every side of the toy. Shira only chuckled.

"I always thought that the only dog-like creature with silver fur was a wolf, so I called him wolfy."

"He's not silver, he's grey." Moon looked at Shira confused. Shira laughed slightly.

"He's still dirty, give him a good wash and see." Moon nodded.

"So what were you doing by the window?" Shira asked after a minute of silence. Moon looked at her happily, she finally found someone who was interested to listen to all of her questions, and maybe answer them! She told Shira everything…

"Hmm…" Shira thought for a moment.

"You know, they do rule together." She finally answered. Moon couldn't wait to hear more, happiness and excitement was written all over her face.

"They take turns, when the sun gets bored from watching her people for a whole day she calls the moon to come and take her place, and then she would have to look after the moon's people." She started and paused for a moment.

"But that means…" Moon mused after Shira was silent for too long. Shira picked up Moon and went to sit right in front of the window, right on the brightly colored square on the ground, then she sat Moon on her lap and wrapped her arms around her. The sun's rays washed them with its warming touch. Moon looked up at Shira with simple, inquiring, innocent eyes.

"It means that they both rule the same kingdom, just like you said. It's just that the goddess doesn't like the darkness, so when she watches over the moon's people she would spread her light. While the lord feels more comfortable when the bright light is gone and only soft light remains. Did you know? The lord depends on the goddess for light; she gives him his wonderful white light."

"So basically, everyone on earth is from the same kingdom. And they do meet, but only on a very special day."

"So they are friends? What day is that?" Moon asked.

"Yes they are. It's the day they choose to be one. It depends on their moods, if they want to unite and melt into one very big ball, then you might be able to see them."

"Have you ever seen that day, Shira? Have you ever seen them melt together?" Moon asked excitedly.

"I did, once. All I can remember is that everything turned very dark and only a very small sparkle of light was emitted from the great sphere. It even looked like a diamond ring, as if the moon was asking the sun's hand in marriage."

"What's a sphere?"

"It's a ball."

"Oh."

"The light was only enough to enable us to see them, nothing else. As if they want the whole world to see them together, to tell them that even odd couples can manage to unite and be one, once in a while. This union is called an eclipse." She finished.

"I want to see an eclipse one day." Said Moon as she looked at the sky.

They both sat there for a while, looking admiringly at the queen, and imagined the king sitting right next to her.

* * *

Thunder: I hoped you liked it.

Please review!


	25. Chapter 25

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 25**

**A Friendly Surprise**

**Moon and Shira sat under the sun's light for quite a while; it was soon time to get ready for the day.**

After a peaceful and simple breakfast of cereal, Moon went to her room to wear the school uniform and brush her teeth. _I wasn't very excited about going there again, but if I didn't care about anyone, didn't mind everyone ignoring me, while ignoring them instead, then it shouldn't be too bad. I would do whatever I want, not caring what others think. In the boys' case, well, I can't say I don't deserve it. I did kill their brothers after all. As for Friends, I'll simply wait._ Moon thought as she dressed.

"Hurry up Moon! We need to go soon or else we will be late." Shira called out. Moon quickly wore her socks and rushed to the door, wore her shoes, picked up her backpack and followed Shira outside. Soon they were on their way through the wonderful fresh and humid air of the forest.

School went on plainly. The boys didn't back down their deal and she didn't seem to care too much. When it came to going back home Moon was the last one left in the school, again. This time she totally blocked out the world and fell into her own darkness, waiting for Shira to come and pull the string that lights the lamp, while she pondered over her last dream. _Nightmare. _She corrected herself chuckling with a smile. It started right after that night, and then every night. She told Shira about it, she told her to simply forget about it and it will forget about her too. But that didn't work! Sure, it was much less frequent, but it was still there. It lessened to once a week, then twice a month, and even to once every three months! But now it suddenly started going backwards, this was the third time this month. _But why is it that every dream is totally different from the other? And it's the same thing every time. The same tall man hidden in the shadows. The same weird feeling about everything. The same message left. If only I could only figure it out! I know something is connecting all of these dreams but I can't really see it._ She was very deep in thought, not noticing at all how noisy it was around her.

A lot of time passed until Shira finally arrived gasping for air and covered with sweat. She took one very deep breath…

"Sorry for being so late for the second time. I really didn't mean to. I actually saw a baby bird simply lying there near a tree trunk and I tried to…" She abruptly stopped her excuses and stared at Moon who didn't even look at her. Shira looked closely at Moon; her eyes were far away and apparently so was her mind. Shira was beginning to worry.

"Moon?" She asked with a happy tone, a tinge of worry was still recognizable in her voice, though. Moon didn't respond.

"Hey…Moon…" She tried again with a smile, this time slightly shaking her shoulder. Moon made a small "mm" voice but nothing else. She didn't look sad nor hurt _except for that other swollen cheek…I have to get her to tell me about it somehow._ She thought to herself. She stared at Moon some more and suddenly she realized something. The result of the realization was a very clear fake smile, a wide flat smile with some tension attached to it, and a very annoyed look in her eyes. _She's ignoring me, isn't she? That silly mischievous little girl. Wait till I get my hands on you…_ She thought in a playfully cruel way.

"Moon…" She said as she put her hand on Moon's waist then lowered her other hand on the other side. Moon didn't show anything until a few minutes passed by. She slowly lifted her greatly confused eyes at the ones in front of her. She didn't get a chance to say anything but a very high surprised gasp because Shira began tickling her violently.

"Moon, you ungrateful little thing! I thought you were hurt. That you were sad. That something bad happened. But no! You were just spacing out and left me all worried." She shouted at the top of her voice as she shook Moon back and forth.

"I…didn't…mean…toooooooo. AAAAAAAhhhhhh!" Moon replied whenever she got near enough to do so. Then Shira let go of her high up in the air. Moon was screaming in both joy and fear. Shira caught her powerfully and carried her securely in her arms, smiling down on her warmly. Moon could only giggle.

"What happened to your other cheek?" Shira asked as the entered the forest. Moon's bag was hanging on Shira's other shoulder, a very small bag compared to her own back. Moon looked at her startled for a moment then averted her surprised gaze.

"Stood behind the other side of the door and the same thing happened?" Shira said mockingly with a smirk. Moon chuckled but then calmed down, still not looking Shira in the eye.

"No." She replied quietly. Shira looked at her awaiting more, but minutes passed as they walked and no word left either of their lips. Shira finally gave up and lifted her head on the grassy path.

"I thought that there were no secrets between us." She sighed in a low voice.

"It's not that." Moon muttered. Shira glanced at her.

"I don't want to talk about it, not now." She finally said and then shifted uncomfortably in Shira's arms. Shira knew that when Moon did that it meant that she wanted to be let down, so she did. Moon kept holding Shira's hand all the way back to the house.

OOOO

"Are you feeling okay?" Shira asked when she tucked Moon in bed after their usual long training.

"Sure. Why do you ask?" She chuckled and looked confused into Shira's eyes. They were quite worried.

"You've been spacing out most of the day today." She replied quietly and kissed her forehead.

"It's nothing! I was just thinking over a dream I had, that's all." She assured her smiling. Shira smiled back.

"So this is just for today?" Moon nodded and Shira felt relived. She kissed Moon one more time and left the room.

Things went on like that for another few months. School, home, training, things were generally going well. Sure, a few things had to change.

Moon was the best in her class, she beat everyone in everything. Which made most of the students stay away from her and the teachers kept her under close watch. The dream kept repeating itself, each time in a different way. Moon kept spacing out most of the time which made Shira very worried, but didn't show it.

Shira on the other hand was more confused than ever. She would come and take Moon but would always find her in some kind of trance. Whenever she asked her about how her day was, Moon would always answer in one of these ways. "I don't want to talk about it." "I had a bad day." Or she would totally ignore her. While during training everything seemed fine, it was the same happy Moon training with her. She had improved quite a lot, faster than Shira was hoping.

And in the last few weeks, Shira would wake up with Moon sleeping right next to her on the narrow sofa, always with a tear stained face. Shira wouldn't say anything about it when Moon woke up, but in reality she was very worried. When she did ask her about Moon would simply answer with "I had a bad dream." Which wasn't a lie at all, but she refused to say anything more.

Reality was, the dreams kept occurring and tormented Moon. She would wake up in the middle of darkness panting hard with tears falling down like silent rain. After recovering a normal breathing rate she would slowly get up and tiptoe out of the room. The dream was so real that she feared it had truly happened. She would stand in front of the sofa, staring at Shira who was the only person alive in the house. She would stand there for more than half an hour just watching her breathe peacefully while sleeping. Then Moon would calm down and go back to her bed. But it came to the point that she feared sleeping alone again in the dark room, so she would climb the sofa and sleep peacefully beside Shira, digging herself in the warmness of her body.

Moon and Yura were the best friends they always were. Each one would throw away the world behind and enjoy themselves with each other and with Seriou of course. Shira would enjoy the company of the blond doctor, always telling him everything. The both of them were worried about Moon, the problem was, she was acting perfectly normal when they were together.

Once, Adam and Yura wanted to make their two friends a little surprise…

"Just close your eyes and let us guide you." Yura said happily as he covered Moon's eyes just like his father did to Shira.

"I hope you like the surprise." Adam said as they were half way there.

"Well, I'm sure we will." Shira responded.

"But I do hope there's nothing red around, is there?" she asked after thinking for a while. Adam abruptly stopped.

"There isn't. But why not?" He asked. Yura noticed Moon stiffening slightly.

"Well, it's a long story." She replied.

"Are you willing to tell me about it?" He asked after a pause.

"Sure. After you get us to that place that is." She replied.

"Hmph. As you wish princess." He joked. She laughed.

Soon they reached their destination and Adam and Yura pulled their hands away. Moon and Shira gasped at the view. A crystal lake surrounded by the forest's huge trees. The clearing was huge and the birds didn't seem to be bothered by their presence.

"Where is this place?" Moon asked in amazement.

"It's in the same forest, Moon." Chuckled Adam.

"It is?" Shira asked as she whipped her head in his direction. He only gave her a look.

"No, I've never explored the forest before if that's what you're saying." Shira said pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest. Moon and Yura could only chuckle at the two adults. Adam had a sheepish smile on while he rubbed his head.

"So you really think I have enough time to look around?" She pointed at him accusingly.

"Hey, I didn't mean it that way." He said while moving his hands in a "calm down" motion.

"And you! I thought you were _the _doctor. But I guess you slack off just like the rest of your comrades who you _always_ talk about." She said pretending to calm down by looking away and crossing her arms, cocking her head while she talked. She took a glance at the doctor and couldn't help but break down laughing at his red face.

"Hey! I found this place a long time ago. And my job has nothing to do with it! You should be thanking me for actually showing it to you." He said pointing at her. She only chuckled and then slightly lifted the corners of her T-shirt and took a bow then started talking in the sweetest tone she could manage, which came out as if she was pretending to be a cute innocent three year old.

"I'm so sorry oh great doctor. I hope you won't stay mad at me for too long. You know that that would break my so delicate heart. Which while we're talking about it, I didn't know how delicate your heart is, that it breaks so easily. Oh forgive me." Then she broke down laughing again as she ended. When she lifted her head she saw a very embarrassed look on the man's face.

"I'm not easy to break!" He snapped.

"Yes you are." She said teasingly.

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are."

"Am not!" Shira couldn't go on because she was twisting and turning on the ground laughing.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. For real this time." She said after catching her breath.

"Hmph." He closed his eyes and walked away, arms crossed.

"Awww, is the famous doctor upset?" She said with puppy eyes.

"Don't start it again!" He said as he turned around with a finger pointing at her.

"Haha, sorry." She said as she got up.

"Now we need to set up the picnic cloth and the other things." He said.

"I don't think that's really necessary." Shira responded by pointing behind him with a smile. He looked behind him and saw that everything was already in place and Moon and Yura stood there looking proud.

"You arranged all these things all by yourselves while daddy and I fought like babies?" Shira asked as she patted Yura on the head. Yura barely held his laugh as he looked at his father who had a very tense smile on his face, clearly annoyed and nodded a yes for Shira.

"I taught Moon how to set the cloth nice and neat!" He said proudly pointing at his chest with his thumb with a huge proud look on his face and smile. Shira gasped.

"You did? You're such a sweet boy." Yura grinned at her happily while putting both of his hands behind his head.

"I picked the place where to put everything!" Moon said excitedly feeling left out.

"And it's a wonderful place; you did such a good job." She said while holding Moon's chin. Moon smiled happily and satisfied.

"You both did a great job." Adam added as he came nearer. The two kids looked at each other with happy grins at each other.

"You're it!" Yura touched Moon's shoulder and ran off.

"Hey!" Moon cried and ran after him. Shira and Adam chuckled as they saw the two running around.

Now they were both sitting on the picnic cloth while Yura and Moon played around the lake.

"So what happened this time?" Adam asked curious.

"Well, it happened a few days ago. I came into her room like every morning, saw her standing by the window like any other morning, but when she turned and looked at me…" She trailed off and lowered her head. Her hair was loose today, so it covered her whole face.

"What happened?" He asked in a low tone as he put his hand on her shoulder telling her to go on.

"Well, nothing really. She just freaked out and started screaming and running away from me shouting Fire! Fire!"

"Fire?"

"I was wearing red."

"And?"

"Nothing. I just found out that she still didn't get over her father's death. She's really scared from fire or anything that represents it, in other words, red things."

"She'll get over it in time."

"That's what I said to myself. A year ago!"

"That's not a very long time for her to…." He trailed off.

"Yes it is! It's been more than two years!"

"…"

"It shouldn't take that long for someone to forget something like this. Should it?"

"Give her more time. None of us can feel or imagine how she felt that night. It might stay forever and it might not. You never know what could happen." Shira nodded in agreement and they both watched silently the crystal blue water of the lake moving with the wind.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you like it. Sorry for being late like this.

Please review!


	26. Chapter 26

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 26**

**Friends after Time**

Moon was sitting on her usual spot, on the top of the mini-stairs in front of the school building's entrance door. Elbows rested on knees, hands holding her cheeks, supporting her head up, a tiny smile on her face. Her gaze on all the kids playing around laughing and having fun. For the first time, she didn't have that longing feeling to join them. She was happy by just simply watching them.

"Hi!" Sarah's voice said as her head popped out of nowhere with a huge smile on it.

"Hi!" Moon replied with an equally huge and happy smile. Lowering her hands and sitting straight.

"How are you today?" Sarah asked.

"Good." Moon replied.

"Can I sit with you?"

"Sure." Moon answered and moved slightly to give her some space. Sarah sat down happily.

"How come you're not with your friends?" Moon asked. She wasn't feeling shy today; she was feeling different from any day in fact. Sarah frowned slightly.

"They're not really friends. They just want me to buy them stuff, that's the only reason they stick around me. I haven't told them yet, but I don't want to be around them anymore. I hate how they make fun of everyone." Moon nodded in agreement, she didn't like it either when they did that.

"So what will you do now?"

"Do you want to be my friend?" Sarah asked hugging her knees. Moon looked at her, for a moment she wanted to ask her to repeat what she had said.

"I always see you alone and…I always watched you, you seem to be like me." Sarah explained looking away.

"I-I am?" Moon looked at her surprised.

"Yeah." Sarah looked at her and chuckled.

"All they want is money. Other than that, my life is fake. No real friends, no one really likes me for me except for dad." She said. Strangely Moon understood what she was saying, as if she was feeling it too.

"I don't mind having a friend for a change." Moon smiled at her. Sarah smiled at her gratefully. They were off and gone playing together after a few minutes.

OOOO

"I want you to meet my dad." Sarah said at the end of the day. Pulling at Moon's hand.

"I don't know Sarah. He probably wouldn't like me." Moon protested.

"Come on Yue Se! He'll surely like you." Sarah kept dragging Moon.

"How many nicknames do you think I can remember?" Moon kept pulling away.

"Oh come on! Yue Se is a wonderful name, much better than Moon, don't you think?" Said Sarah, still dragging Moon.

"Hey Sarah!" The girl named Nina called running towards Sarah, along with the rest of her group. They pulled Sarah Away from Moon and circled her, then started talking in whispers.

"What are you doing with that girl?" She asked a tinge of anger in her voice as she bared her teeth.

"Look girls I think Nataly is a great person and you are nothing but fake friends. I don't want to have anything to do with you." Sarah said clearly.

"What did she do to you to make you say that? I thought we were best friends." Lina asked shocked.

"She didn't say a word. I know that all you want is to use me and I'm not letting that happen." She said then turned around on her heels.

"This is the last time I speak to you. Bye." And she walked away from them. The girls stood there dumbfounded but let it go saying that the two were crazy and went off.

"That was a little harsh, wasn't it?" Moon asked as they made their way to the gate. Sarah looked down.

"I hate those who pretend to be something they're not. I had enough of them already during kindergarten. I learned my lesson." She replied and Moon understood her, again, she felt as if she knew what Sarah was exactly feeling. _What was that?_ She kept pondering about it but gave up.

"Hey there my little angel." A voice pulled Moon out of her thoughts; they were at the gate already. And the man hugging Sarah must be her father. A brown, short haired man with dark brown eyes.

"Dad, dad! I want you to meet my new friend." She told him excitedly and pulled him to where Moon was standing. Moon looked at the tall man and suddenly felt her usual shyness come back again, turning her cheeks red.

"Hello, and who might you be?" He asked crouching down in front of her. Moon suddenly couldn't talk, knowing how people usually reacted to her name. She felt frozen.

"This is Nataly, dad. Nataly Qui Tong. Yue Se, this is my dad" Sarah introduced. Moon nodded with a smile at the man.

"The Qui Tong family?" he asked amazed and looked at Moon for a moment. Moon held her breath.

"Why does the family name matter, dad?" Sarah asked confused.

"Nothing at all. I was just surprised that there are still some people left from their clan." He said while patting Moon's head with a kind smile, which caused her to gasp but she fought the urge of backing away. Sarah still looked confused but her father laughed it away.

"Sarah always talks about you at home. When will your parents come? I would like to meet them." He asked.

"Um, my parents…they're…dead." The words came out difficultly from her throat. Sarah and her father stared at her for a moment. She was shifting uncomfortably under their gaze.

"I'm sorry." He finally said. Moon shook her head with a smile.

"Then how do you live? Do you live alone?" Sarah asked after being quiet for too long. Moon shook her head and pointed behind them with a smile. They both followed her gaze to a woman with brown hair approaching them. Shira managed to arrive on time today.

"Hey Moon! Who are those? New friends?" She asked from far away. Moon nodded with a loud "Yeah."

Sarah's father, mister Johnson, stood up and waited to greet Shira. Shira instantly extended her hand before him just as she came close enough.

"So you will be joining our small group of friends? Glad to meet you! I'm Abashira, but please call me Shira." She introduced as she shook the man's hand excitedly.

"Glad to meet you Shira. My name is Jerry Johnson. And yes, I think I would like to know you better."

"Ah! So you're the father of the legendary Sarah right? Glad to meet you Mr. JJ!" Shira seemed very excited, apparently in a good mood. Moon looked down then glanced at Sarah. Who just stood there looking at Shira.

"You have no idea how much Moon talks about you at home." Shira said leaning down near Sarah. She smiled happily.

"Shira." Moon whispered as she tugged at her jeans.

"Well you do don't you?" Sarah chuckled slightly at that.

"Yue Se told me about you. She said you were a great person." Sarah said.

"Yue…Se?" Shira blinked and looked at Moon, who simply shrugged.

"Nataly said you called her Moon, so I decided to call her Yue Se!" Sarah replied.

"Sarah likes giving people nicknames." Her father explained. Shira nodded in understanding.

"Come and have lunch with us." She offered.

"Well…"

"Come on daddy, please?" Sarah jumped while tugging his sleeve.

"Alright, why not. Where do you live?" He asked.

"It's a bit far." Shira explained in an apologetic look.

"It's not a problem." He said smiling. Soon they were following Moon and Shira through the forest.

OOOO

Four years passed, Moon and Sarah became great friends and soon she met Yura and made friends with him as well. They were the friends that couldn't be separated.

But changes occur, and the next one will be one of a kind.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you liked it.

Please Review!


	27. Chapter 27

Thunder: Maybe a little depressing but, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King

* * *

**Chapter 27**

**Everything Has Its Trigger**

**Four years passed, Moon and Sarah became great friends and soon she met Yura and made friends with him as well. They were the friends that couldn't be separated.**

**But changes occur; Yura is now in sixth grade, Seriou died recently as well. Sarah got to know about shamanism, even though she couldn't see spirits she joined Moon's physical training and the two had lots of fun. And the next change will be one of a kind…**

It was the start of Moon's fourth year at the Sturdy Rock and she got herself detention. Moon's hair had grown longer, but the cut was still the same, only now it reached a little lower than her shoulders. She also grew taller; her head now reaches up till the bottom of Shira's waist when a few years ago she only reached below her hips.

It was a stupid reason for detention; she simply asked a question without raising her hand while the supervisor was visiting her class and since all the adults at the school had her under close watch they gave her detention. It was to simply stand under the direct hit of the sun in the middle of noon while the teacher sat next to her under an umbrella with cold drinks while reading a magazine. _Simple_ was Moon's first thought. But now that it has been an hour, it didn't look that simple at all. _Three more to go. And Shira is exceptionally late today._ She thought. And above all it was unusually very hot today, which is exactly why the headmaster actually decided for this detention.

The hours passed and still no sign of Shira. Everyone had already gone home since before she started, but there was still no sight of her. Moon was slowly getting tired and after two more hours she started to feel dizzy. The sun was too hot and her spot was directly under it.

A blurry form was approaching fast, it seemed like the person was shouting. Moon didn't realize that her sight actually went blurry and her hearing was so low. It was clear, it had to be Shira. And she was shouting at the teacher, arguing. Only, Moon could only hear whispers, incoherent whispers that she couldn't understand. Shira came closer to her, grabbed her hand and started walking away. Moon staggered slightly, holding onto Shira's hand to keep her standing. She felt Shira talking to her but she couldn't understand a single word.

She sighed softly after entering the shade of the forest, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The forest's air was always nice and cool, just right. Sure, sometimes the humidity becomes too much to bear but other than that it's just fine. Moon unconsciously took slow steps. She couldn't see it but Shira looked extremely worried.

Moon's steps kept getting slower, until she stumbled and fell to her knees. She was between consciousness and unconsciousness. She heard Shira whisper her name, but she was probably screaming it. After a moment Shira must've seen that Moon was just tired because she quietly slipped her hands onto Moon's waist and lifted her. Moon felt secure after Shira wrapped her free hand around her. She fell asleep on Shira's shoulder a few minutes after.

OOOO

Shira tucked Moon in her bed right after she arrived; she had taken off her school clothes and put on her pajamas instead. She went to the kitchen, filled a bowl with cold water and took out a piece of cloth. She went back into Moon's room, dipped the cloth inside the bowl with cold water, squeezed it tightly and brushed Moon's face with it then gently and placed it on her forehead. She pulled the covers till Moon's neck and got up.

Shira headed directly to the living room, took out the telephone and started spinning the number wheel; it was that old of a phone. The house was unusually quiet, the two ghosts were out, saying they wanted to go and explore the mountains for a change. They wouldn't be back for at least a week. She bit her thumb's fingernail impatiently as she waited for the person on the other side to answer. Finally, someone did.

"Hello?" said a young voice.

"Hey, is it Yura? Yura is your dad around? I need to talk to him right away." She said trying to sound normal.

"Yeah it is me! Dad has lots of work today. He's in the underground surgery room." Yura answered.

"Yeah, well call him up anyway and fast. Tell him it's important." She insisted.

"Is everything okay?" He asked suspiciously.

"Everything is fine. I just want to talk to your dad about something, to ask him for something." She said in a final tone.

"Now go get him for me." She ordered in a low voice.

"Yes ma'am." She heard him say from a distance. He was as stiff as a tree log when he heard her talking in that tone. He quickly ran down the stairs, opened the basement door, called for his dad saying that Shira was about to crush him if he didn't appear at once. After his father left leaving a very similar dust cloud behind Yura sighed in relief. He didn't want to get scolded in his father's place. He knew that every phone call those two make has to end up in some sort of argument.

OOOO

"So what is important? I do hope it's more important than my work because I have plenty of that and I need to finish it today." Adam said as he picked up the phone.

"Well I suppose that's your fault for slacking off too much lately…"

"Hey! You know very well….." He cut her but then she cut him.

"Yeah, yeah. This is not the time for arguing, Moon is sick." She went straight to the point.

"What? In this hot day? What exactly happened?" He asked slowly sounding serious.

"My boss called me this morning telling me to come over and help. I did and the result is that I came late to pick up Moon today, three hours late."

"Okay, so where's the harm in that?"

"Let me finish! Apparently the headmaster gave Moon detention for something stupid; I don't even want to talk about that. She actually ordered her to stand under the sun for four hours, luckily I showed up before that."

"Only by an hour." He muttered to himself.

"Does she have fever?" he quickly asked.

"I didn't check yet, but her body feels hot. I put a cloth on her forehead, that should help right?"

"Yes that's good, for now. Take her temperature and call me, if we're lucky this won't be a very serious thing." He replied.

"Okay, I'll call you then." She said and hung up the phone then put it back.

She went to the kitchen and started searching for a thermometer, the doctor's last words ringing in her head _if we're lucky this won't be a very serious thing_. Those words made her feel uneasy.

OOOO

"So what's up dad? Aunt Shira sounded very worried or something." Yura asked when his father came down the stairs.

"Moon seems sick. It doesn't happen a lot so she took the habit to worry whenever it does." He answered tonelessly without looking at him.

"What did she get?" He asked with a frown.

"Fever." His father answered with his back turned to him as he returned to his work on the desk.

"That shouldn't be too bad, right?" Yura asked with a fake smile.

"Right?" he asked again when he didn't get any response.

"Maybe." His father answered in a tone barely above a whisper. Now Yura was starting to worry too, his father doesn't normally say _maybe_ often in his work.

OOOO

"Adam her temperature is 38.9" Shira said hurriedly as she called him. No reply.

"Adam?" She called a little louder.

"Hm?" She heard him say nonchalantly.

"What do you mean _Hm?_" She said annoyed.

"Keep her cool with the cloths. Check her temperature every now and then. If it stays the same or gets higher call me and I'll come over and give you some medicine." He instructed.

"She doesn't need medicine now?" She asked a little confused.

"I'll come and give her something to help lower her temperature. I'll be there in an hour." He answered after a minute of thinking.

"Alright."

OOOO

Adam didn't waste his time; he came once at noon then near night fall and another quick one near mid night.

Moon's condition was stable during the day but when night came…her temperature rose considerably. She was gasping in quick but quiet deep gasps, her eye brows were knotted, turning from side to side from time to time. Adam gave her some medicine but the effects weren't that strong.

Shira watched her painfully, feeling guilty for being responsible for all of this. Adam squeezed the cold soaked cloth and placed it on Moon's forehead. Moon gasped loudly at the contact.

"This is all we can do." Adam said in a sigh and looked at Shira. She nodded solemnly without a word or even looking at him.

"I'll be going then. I can't leave Yura alone for too long, not after Seriou died." He excused looking at her apologetically. She finally turned to him with a fake small smile.

"How is he dealing with it? He loved Seriou so much." She asked only to create a distraction for herself. Adam stared at her for a while and could only smile sadly.

"He's fine. Especially after she became his guardian ghost…like she always was. So it's as if she never left. Will you be okay?" He asked concerned.

"I'll be fine." She answered with a fake grin and in a fake happy but still shaky voice.

"She'll be fine, don't worry. She just needs to rest." He said as placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. She turned to him and nodded with a smile, a real grateful smile. Adam stood up and started walking away.

"Thank you." She said to him when he reached the room's door. He turned to her and grinned then with a wave of his hand to say goodbye he continued his way out of the house and into the forest.

OOOO

The night went by peacefully after that. Moon was much better the next morning compared to her condition last night. Still she wouldn't be able to go anywhere so she had to skip school for a couple of days. Sadly it was her absence that will trigger an end to something and a beginning to another.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed it! Oh and by the way, the next chapter is the one that holds the great change, not this one.

Please review!


	28. Chapter 28

Thunder: Enjoy! Oh and I almost forgot! The name Yue Se was given to me by AnimexXxGoddess, so thanks a lot!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 28**

**Fall**

**Moon was much better the next morning compared to her condition last night. Still she wouldn't be able to go anywhere so she had to skip school for a couple of days. **

**Sadly it was her absence that will trigger an end to something and a beginning to another.**

"Where's Yue Se?" Sarah asked when she saw Shira coming without Moon.

"Moon is a little sick, she can't come today." Shira answered smiling.

"Oh." Was Sarah's only reply.

"Will she get better soon?" She asked as she walked with Shira towards the school's building.

"Yeah, she'll be fine in a day or two. Don't worry okay?" Shira glanced at her with a smile. Sarah nodded with a smile. Sarah waited outside the headmaster's room for Shira. After she came out Sarah walked with her all the way back to the gate. Then the bell rang.

"Go now." Shira said to her without stopping. Sarah stood still for a moment, her mind between running straight back to the classroom and wanting to say something. She finally decided on the latter.

"Say hi to Yue Se for me! And tell her I wish she gets better soon." She finally called out.

"I will." Shira called back without turning around, only by raising her arm and waving goodbye. Sarah turned and ran back to her class.

OOOO

"How is she?" Shira asked Adam as soon as she entered the house.

"Same." He answered while squeezing the cloth and putting it on Moon's forehead. Shira sighed both in disappointment and relief then went to make tea.

She came after a while with two cups of tea, handed one to Adam and sat down on the wooden chair.

"Why do you act so careless when you're really worried?" Adam asked after a few minutes of silence. Shira shrugged.

"It's the best way to avoid it." She said.

"You know it's…" He started but Shira cut him.

"A bad habit. Yes, I do know. But that's the way I've always dealt with things." She said in a clear voice and louder than her usual. Adam opened his mouth to say something but then wisely shut it and returned to drinking his tea.

OOOO

"It sure is lonely without Yue Se." Sarah said to herself during recess. Then three very familiar boys came closer to her.

"So where's the Qui Tong girl, Rich girl?" Nick said grinning as he came closer. Sarah wore a scowl, she never agreed to how Moon acted around them, always letting them do whatever they wished. She wasn't like that.

"We have names you know." She said when they were in front of her.

"Come on, where is she? Hiding somewhere?" He asked looking around.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" He called.

"Don't bother, she didn't come today." Sarah said with a smirk as she stood up to go somewhere, anywhere far away from them! But she caught the wide grin on Nick's face and stopped. A satisfied look on his face and the look he was giving her. She felt uncomfortable.

"What are you grinning at?" She finally snapped at him.

"Oh nothing. Just that there will be no one to protect you today." He said with a faint chuckle. Sarah frowned confused.

"What do you mean _protect me_?" She finally asked.

"She didn't tell you? Qui Tong girl begs us everyday to leave you alone. You have no idea how long we've had our eyes on you." He said in a voice filled with amusement. Sarah felt something waver inside her; she took an unconscious step backwards. The three boys only grinned and came closer until they cornered her. In a swift move they snatched her and went somewhere at the back of the building and up a staircase. Sarah didn't even have time to scream. They reached a small platform three floors high. Sarah looked down the far distance; she found no voice in her throat.

"Ready?" Nick whispered to her ear as he held her over nothing but air and a far ground. Sarah squirmed in his grip.

"What's the matter? Air cut your tongue?" Joe said chuckling. Jack nudged him with the elbow.

"Ow! What?" Joe turned to him.

"Its cat cut your tongue, air can't cut!" Jack whispered to him.

"Well I can't see a cat anywhere either." Joe protested.

"Shut up you two. You're going to miss it if you keep arguing." Nick called from where he was standing. They both ran to his side.

"One, two, three!" The three of them called out in unison and Nick forcefully threw Sarah down, head first.

Sarah felt the air behind her back, as if trying to slow her down but to no avail. Her body bended from an arched position to a straight, vertical form. It felt like a while, but it only took a moment till she crashed to the ground. Blackness slowly veiled her, till there was only darkness.

"Ready to play our part now boys?" Jack announced.

"Let's fool them the best we can, put on your sweetest most innocent faces boys. We have a life to save." Nick said as he started running down the stairs. The two followed suit.

* * *

Thunder: Well, I hope you liked it!

Please review!


	29. Chapter 29

Thunder: Enjoy! Moreover, I'm sorry for being so late.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 29**

**Darkness**

_"Yue Se? Yue Se wake up!" Moon heard a familiar voice calling out to her._

_"Yue Se!" Two hands started shaking her and she opened her eyes to see Sarah hovering above her. Moon slowly sat up with a smile._

_"What is it?" She asked._

_"Come on! I'm going away and you're sleeping?" Sarah complained in a friendly way. Moon looked at her, a mixture of shock, surprise and confusion in her eyes._

_"What?" She finally asked in a low and slow voice voice._

_"I'm leaving and I came to say goodbye." Sarah clarified with a sigh._

_"What do you mean leave? Where would you go? Why?" Moon finally burst out._

_"I mean what I said. I don't know where I would go though. I don't know why either. But this guy said that he wants me to come with him and I said, hey! Why not?" Sarah answered with a grin. Moon stared at her horrified. Her eyes grew even wider when she saw a man wearing a black robe from head to toe showing up behind Sarah. He put his hand on the blond girl's shoulder and she looked up at him with a smile then again at Moon. Moon was seconds away from snatching Sarah away from him before he held up his hand, signaling patience._

_"I promise you I'll bring her back, but not too soon I'm afraid." His deep but clear voice stated. Moon narrowed her eyes._

_"Where are you taking her? And why should I believe you?" She said in a rather harsh, cold voice. Sarah looked at her confused then back at the man. He had an unsatisfied look on his half-hidden face and his eyes showed a bit of sadness._

_"I live inside you, not exactly, but I am connected to you. Try to accept me, trust me for once." He said in a sad voice._

_"She is going with me, and you won't see us for about a year. You will soon find out why." He explained after a sigh._

_"A year? Why?" Moon asked as she got up. A door started to form behind Sarah and the man._

_"I told you that you will soon find out. Now excuse us, please." He said as the door behind them opened and he started leading Sarah in._

_"Wait no!" Moon screamed. The man stopped and looked back at her._

_"Yes?" he said with a lack of interest._

_"If you really are part or at least connected to me, then you must surely know that I hate to be alone. Don't take her away, please." She pleaded with eyes twinkling with unshed tears._

_"You must forgive me, but I cannot. It is not in my hands to choose, it is in yours." He said as he walked through the door and it automatically closed._

Moon woke up with a gasp, eyes wide and sweating. Adam was just about to leave when she woke up. Both he and Shira ran up to her and Adam started to ask Moon weird questions and so did Shira, but all Moon could concentrate on was her dream.

* * *

Sarah woke up, she opened her eyes but there was only darkness. She heard a few movements and some voices around her, the voices were bubbly, as if the people were talking from underwater, but she couldn't even see their outlines, only plain darkness. She tried to get up but then she felt an unbearable pain rush through her head. Suddenly she felt a hand pushing her down, forcefully and in a quick way. Sarah, not knowing who or what was doing that, screamed and backed away from the hands clutching her shoulder. She hit something solid. Then suddenly the sound of the door shooting open resounded in the room and all the noise went down. Sarah was shaking from fear, but when two hands suddenly grabbed her, she was screaming her heart out.

"Sarah it's me!" The person clutching her shoulders shouted. Sarah recognized the voice immediately.

"Daddy?" She whispered after finally stopping her thrashing around.

"Yes, are you alright?" He asked in a hurried and worried voice.

"My head hurts and I can't see a thing. Please open the lights." She answered while moving closer to her father. The room suddenly fell silent and Sarah couldn't hear a sound. She looked up in hope to see her father's face but it was useless. In reality, the room was very well lit and there were three people in it, the headmistress, the nurse and Sarah's father. All the others were waiting outside wondering what will become of the young girl.

"Did you call the hospital?" Jerry asked in a serious tone.

"Yes we have, they're sending an ambulance. It should be here soo..." The nurse was cut off by the door shooting open. Sarah flinched at all the sounds that were around here. Listening without seeing seemed to be a very new thing to her; she was hoping that that phase would end very soon.

"The ambulance is here!" A girl informed the three adults. Soon the men came with nick leading them. They took Sarah and her father with them to the hospital and the rest of the school fell silent. _Now what?_ That was what everyone was asking themselves, except for the three grinning young boys who were standing in the back.

* * *

"Moon, Moon, MOON!" Shira finally yelled and that was when Moon realized that the two adults were cornering her.

"Are you okay?" Shira asked for about the thousandth time.

"Yeah." Moon simply replied. Adam was checking her up by then, he was already listening to her rapid breathing with his stethoscope.

"You should stay in bed, you need a lot of rest and…Shira go and make her something warm, she needs to eat. A soup would be best, we can't risk her dehydrating." Adam started giving his orders. Shira nodded and went to the kitchen while Moon simply looked confused at the full speed work the two were doing.

"Sleep for now." He pushed her back into her bed and attempted to cover her before she shot up.

"No!" She said in a loud voice.

"What do you mean no? You need to rest!" Adam said in an equivalent high voice. _Looks like doctors tend to act like that, bossy._ Moon thought before going back to her point.

"I want to go and see Sarah." She said in a determined voice.

"You can't go anywhere in your condition."

"But I feel fine!"

"No, we're not risking it. You're sick so you stay in bed."

"Then you go and see her for me?" She asked in a pleading voice. Adam was surprised by the sudden change.

"Why?"

"Something's happened to her, I'm sure of that." She answered him with desperation in her dark black eyes.

"You've dreamt something?" Shira asked when she popped her head from the side of the room's door. Moon nodded her head.

"Adam you go to the school and see what's going on; I have everything under control here." Shira said after thinking for a while. Moon instantly smiled happily.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" Adam was confused.

"Moon has a very strong aura around her when she wakes up from certain dreams, didn't you notice anything now?" She asked.

"Well yeah but…I just thought…" He trailed off.

"Well, normally those dreams never turn out to be real but if it's not about her…it could have some sort of…effect."

"What?" Adam was now more confused than ever.

"Just go okay? You're not gonna lose anything if you do." Shira said with a sigh.

"F-fine." He hesitated and soon left.

"Now you should finally do what the doctor says, right?" Shira said as she turned to Moon. Moon didn't argue about that and did as she was told before.

"What do you mean with _if it's not about me then it could have an effect_?" Moon asked.

"I'm not so sure myself Moon. However, that aura around you is very strong, that's for sure. And what I've learned about strong auras is that they have an effect on something. It might be a minor thing, but sometimes it might even cause death…" Shira said looking down, remembering exactly how her own mother died. She looked up to see the shock and worry on Moon's face and instantly smiled.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing of the sort." She tried to sound cheerful, it worked somehow.

"She can't die…because he said she would return after a year…" Moon mused to herself. Shira looked at her confused.

"Moon, get some rest. Everything will be alright." Moon nodded and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

"So how is she doctor?" Jerry asked after his daughter was finally treated and put to sleep.

"She has lost her eye sight, that's for sure. Other than that, you should be happy because, it's a miracle that there are no broken bones…none of the kind that would cause a defect at least." The doctor explained. Jerry simply nodded; he was thankful, but still sad. He looked at his daughter sleeping in the hospital bed.

"She will get better, she will have problems adapting to the fact that she can't see but that won't be a big problem you'll see." The doctor said to try and cheer up the father then left after Jerry nodded at him with a thankful smile. Jerry took Sarah's hand and prayed that she would soon wake up feeling better, he never wanted to see her so bloody and terrified ever again.

* * *

"Dad? Where are you running off to like that?" Yura spotted his father in the middle of the forest; he has just gotten back from his school.

"Isn't it a bit early for you to be out of school?" Adam asked crossing his arms.

"They let us out early. In fact, all the schools let all the kids loose just a few minutes ago."

"What? Why?"

"They told us that an accident happened in one of the schools. I don't know what that has to do with our school but hey! I'm not complaining'" Yura said in a lid back style as he shrugged. He was wearing his bag in a weird way, the one move that really annoyed his father and Yura knew that. After seeing the look on his face, Yura wisely wore it properly.

"Um, anyway. I was on my way back but no one was in the house, so I knew you were in aunt Shira's house so I was going there and then I met you." Yura said after clearing his throat.

"Do you know what that accident was about?"

"Oh yeah I forgot! I actually took the time to check it out. It was in Moon's school, they said a girl fell down from a high place and they called for an ambulance. The whole school was like a wild pack of animals, everyone running around either screaming or going to do something or gathering their stuff and making a run for it. But I seriously have no idea what they're so terrified of. Anyway, all the parents were gathered there scolding the headmistress, it was really fun to watch." Yura explained. Adam's face grew grim.

"Dad? Is something wrong? Did I say something?"

"It's Sarah…" Adam muttered to himself.

"Huh?"

"You go to Shira's house and help her. Moon is sleeping so don't make too much noise." Adam ordered and continued walking in a fast pace. Yura looked at his father's retreating back, wondering what was going on. Then he simply shrugged it off and walked down his own way.

"Hey, Yura wait!" Yura stopped at his father's sudden call and turned around.

"Yeah?" He called after seeing his father standing a far away.

"Do you know what hospital they took the girl to?"

"Aaaah, I think it was the one you said you used to work at."

"Alright, thanks." Adam finally said and turned around and walked away. _I wonder what's going on…Oh well…_ Yura shrug his shoulders, took out an apple from his bag and ate it on his way.

* * *

"Hey aunt Shira, it's me!" Yura said quietly as he pushed the already open door.

"Oh, Yura! What's brought you here?" Shira asked surprised.

"School ended early today." He said as he put down his bag on the floor.

"Oh. Then come and help me with this."

"Sure. How's Moon by the way?" He asked.

"Oh she's fine, she's getting better." She answered.

"Okay, that's good. So what are we making?" Yura asked as he put on an apron.

"Soup."

"Alright, I think I'm good at this!"

"Haha, I hope so because I'm not so good at this at all." Shira laughed and they both started working.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed it!

Please review!


	30. Chapter 30

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 30**

**The Promise**

**Moon felt better after a few days and was finally allowed to go to school; the two adults have yet to tell her about Sarah so it was a bit of a shock when Moon found out at school. Not that she didn't know it already but she kept telling herself that it was just a nightmare. A year had passed, a very rough year, for everyone. But as promised, Sarah returned after spending a whole year in a special school for helping blind people. The good thing was that she took to it immediately. While both Yura and Moon continued on their own shamanic training.**

The art class had already begun and all the students were handed a rectangle shaped piece of wood and a small carving kit, everyone set to work busily. After a while, the teacher cleared her throat, ready to announce something. Everyone looked up.

"Class, I'd like to introduce you to a new classmate, for those who haven't met her yet. This new student is quite special…" She was cut off by some low grunts and sighs from the students.

"Now students, I didn't mean it that way, I meant that she…is a special case. She can't see and I hope you will all be nice to her. Please come in." The teacher finally called out and the door slowly creaked open, a girl with long blond hair came in. Most of the boys and girls gasped in surprise. It was Sarah, Moon recognized her immediately and a huge smile spread on her face. Sarah's fringe had grown longer, long enough to cover part of her eyes, which looked quite glassy, they were looking at the ground and her head was slightly bowed.

"Dear Miss Sarah came back to our school because she missed it so much, I'm sure everyone now wants to make her feel like home. Miss Sarah, I've chosen a very good seat for you, if you allow me to lead you to it…" She was cut off.

"I want to sit next to Yue Se." Was Sarah's firm statement. Moon looked both happy and surprised. When the teacher couldn't find any words to persuade her otherwise she reluctantly led Sarah to where Moon was sitting, handed her a piece of wood and the kit and returned to her position in front of the class.

_"I've missed you." _Whispered Moon with a badly hid grin.

_"Me too. I have loads to tell you."_ Sarah whispered back.

_"Like what?"_

_"Well first, I'm not exactly blind."_

_"…" _Moon stared with a blank expression.

_"Weird right?" _Moon hummed her reply and Sarah nodded.

_"I can and cannot see." _Moon scowled slightly.

_"Now that really is clearing up the fog." _Moon muttered which caused a tiny giggle to escape Sarah's mouth. Then she turned to face Moon.

_"I can't see __**you**__, but I __**can**__ see your outline."_

_"Oh…like, shadows?"_

_"No, it's more like…well look, this piece of wood in my hand, I can't see it all. No outline, no anything. But when I look over at you I see a neon blue outline, I can't see your face but I can at least know where you are."_

_"I…I think I understand."_

_"I've noticed…that I can see living things…__**all**__ the things that live or __**used to **__live."_

_"Huh? What do you…"_

_"You've rarely talked to me about your mother. I remember you once said that she stays by your side, is she here now?" _Moon fell silent at the sudden non-related-to-the-topic-question, but decided to silently ask her mother to appear beside her.

_"Um…" _But Sarah beat her to it.

_"She is right behind you isn't she? She's taller than you are, of course. She is leaning on the wall, and…maybe that's long hair swaying from behind her back? Am I right?" _Moon could only gape, all she said was right. She glanced back at her mother who had the same startled and surprised expression on her face.

_"Uh, how did you know?"_ Moon finally asked, trying to keep her voice down.

_"Hehe, I saw her outline! Like I said, I can now see the outlines of __**all**__ living __**and**__ those who used to live."_

"You...can see spirits now. You can see each and every living being's soul! You're not** just** seeing a neon blue outline, that outline has to be the soul's aura."Kanil exclaimed as she came to a conclusion from what had settled in her mind.

"Really?" Sarah exclaimed excitedly. Everyone turned to her and she felt the weird feeling of many eyes staring at her.

"Um, ah. Sorry." Sarah grinned a sheepish grin as an apology.

"I know you're excited to be back Miss Sarah but I do hope such sudden actions will not come from you again." said the teacher. Sarah calmly nodded. She glanced at Moon with a small smile. Moon smiled back, knowing Sarah could not see it, but could feel it clearly.

_"Sarah?"_ Moon suddenly asked after a very long time of silence.

_"Yes?"_

_"What about your mom? What happened to her?" _Sarah frowned, her face holding a sad expression.

_"She…she died after my birth in just a few days." _Moon shivered inwardly at the sad tone of her friend, she could make out a small whisper coming from Sarah, though her lips didn't move, she could still hear it quite clearly in a very low voice. _She died because of me._

* * *

Class soon ended and everyone handed over some very poorly carved figures, some handed it back just as they took it, others had an _ok_ figure, mostly something very simple like a table while others gave back nothing at all because they carved everything to shreds. _It was their first try _was the teacher's lousy excuse to cheer herself up. On the playground things flowed very normally, nothing changed at all except that Moon now had company and was happier than any other day. School ended and the two parents/guardians met. (Shira is now officially Moon's guardian) Both were thrilled to see each other again just like the two girls. Shira invited everyone to a small celebration party for Sarah's return, so even Yura and Adam came. When they were there, Sarah told everyone about her new ability.

"That fall must've triggered your inner powers and the accident of the semi-death state made it all stronger so that you can see spirits even when you're blind…" Adam summarized after hearing everything.

"Say dad, does that mean that Sarah can now join us on training?" Yura asked excitedly and the thought of it made Moon jump from excitement, looking at Shira with eyes that said _PLEASE!_ Sarah gasped.

"Can I daddy, can I really join them?" She had always watched the _meaningless_ moves and actions her two friends practiced. It seemed as if they were fighting air but the look on their faces was always that of hard concentration. She didn't understand it then, but now that she can actually _see_ what's going on, she betted herself it would be fun. The three adults looked at each other and smiled.

"It's fine with me, I trust the both of you and the children." Said Jerry.

"Hey I'm not a child anymore!" Yura snapped. Jerry laughed.

"No you're not! You're a young man now." That seemed to satisfy Yura because he looked all happy, proud and smug.

"I have nothing to say in this, all I do is train them on healing and stuff, which is mostly Yura's space. All the training will be on her neck." Adam pointed at Shira. The trio looked at her with hopefulness in their eyes.

"_Sigh…_Alright, I don't mind. But you have to promise me to keep up with Moon and Yura; otherwise it would be a waste of time."

"YAY! I promise. I'll do my best!" Sarah and Moon started dancing around happily. And who was Sun to miss that opportunity? So he joined them as well.

* * *

Thunder: Everyone! Stand by to see the first oversoul-training match on the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Oh and by the way, I have exams for at least two weeks, so I won't be updating…not that I'm doing that very regularly am I?

Please review!


	31. Chapter 31

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 31**

**A Battle**

**Sarah has a new ability and Shira is up on the job to perfect it. Sarah seemed to be fast in anything that was put in her hands, she soon caught up with Moon and Yura after two years of training, school will be over in two weeks and the two girls will meet their second year in junior-high school after the summer holidays. But things are never really normal around them.**

"HAH!" Sarah charged at Moon and Moon barely dodged.

The two girls were having their regular after school oversoul training and once again, Sarah was taking the upper hand.

"Hya!" Sarah swung her scythe in the air but Moon ducked down just in time.

They were both having quite a lot of fun. Both holding their own scythes. Moon using Sun's soul and a thick wooden rod as a medium, gaining a bony sharp scythe while Sarah took Kanil's soul and a black iron rod as a medium, gaining a very beautiful black scythe decorated with rubies and diamonds.

"Nah!" Sarah charged once more but Moon blocked it this time.

"Finally! I've grown tired from chasing you around." Said Sarah as she tried to break Moon's oversoul or take it from her, because by that she wins today's training. Moon grunted.

"You've been doing nothing but swing that scythe around, you're not giving me any opening." Said Moon trying to come up with an excuse.

"You think I'm gonna give you one just because you said so?" Sarah said with a smile.

"This is the whole point of the training, try to find an opening and/or don't give your opponent an opening. She's doing much better than you are Moon, you know that?" Shira said from her spot under a tree. Her arms crossed over her chest as she observes the whole area.

"But!" Moon cried out.

"Come on Yue Se! You're not gonna let your blind beginner friend defeat you and on her first training match, are you?" Sarah teased as she took a jump backwards, giving a good distance between her and Moon. Moon smirked and tightened her grip on the scythe. Then charged at a blinding speed towards Sarah. The scythe stopped in mid air, inches away from Sarah's neck, surprising both her and Shira. Sarah gasped after a moment; she hadn't realized that she was holding her breath. Moon then lowered her scythe.

"How was that?" She asked Shira.

"Not bad at all, you're still the fastest one. But you're not always the clever one, try to think while moving around in the arena. I've seen many rational actions there and you need to work on that. But I do know that you're not very good in far-range battles, still, that's not an excuse. As for Sarah, you get the opposite of what I said to Moon, you need to speed up and try to concentrate where you're going. Being blind means, you need to have a good sense of direction and orientation during a battle, so that you won't lose concentration. I've also noticed that you're quite good at far-range battles, probably because you can study your opponent's movements. But I'm sure you could've seen Moon coming and dodged away if you concentrated harder. But all in all, you were both great. And it also seems that the two of you make a good team, each one fills in the lack of the other." Shira said, giving her report of today's progress.

"Hey am I late for training?" Yura said as he walked towards them with light, happy steps.

"Boy, you sure are an idiot. We've just finished!" Sarah answered to his question.

"Hey! It's not my fault that your school lets you out before ours! In short, I'm still on the correct time. 'Come at once after school is done' That's what I did and this is what I get?"

"Why do you always go on the defensive side? I even noticed that when you battle."

"Huh? Me defensive? I'll show you how I fight, which one of you ladies will step up first to fight the undefeatable Yura?" He said with a smug and arrogant smile. Sarah walked towards him, her oversoul still activated.

"Ah, so you'll be the first…Wha!" He fell on the ground with a swoop of Sarah's scythe, simply pushed his legs and he fell.

"Undefeatable, pfft! Yeah right! Stop being such an arrogant jerk who loves himself will you? I've grown tired of it." Sarah said as she looked down on him with bored eyes, knowing where he's lying. Her scythe slightly stuck in the ground as she used it as object to lean on.

"Hey that wasn't fair! I wasn't ready yet! Tell her it's not fair Shira!" Yura said pointing an accusing finger at Sarah who simply sighed exasperatedly.

"Well first, it's _aunt_ Shira for you." She said glaring at him, Moon suppressed a laugh, seeing Yura's face pail while she knew that Shira was only playing. It was seriously funny!

"Um, sorry ma'am, please forgive me." Yura begged in a way that one would think they have really seen his face shrink from fear, and this time the laughs were barely suppressed, even Shira had a hard time keeping herself from cracking down. She cleared her throat and started again with a serious face.

"That's much better. Second, it's very fair because you told them to simply come and fight you. Sarah did and she knocked you down…"

"Hey I only asked which one would be first! I didn't tell them to come just yet." Yura cut her and he wished he hadn't. The daggers Shira was throwing with her glares made him shiver. Glares that clearly said "Don't cut me again or else…" Yura shook his head; he didn't want to know what would happen. Instead, he gave her a sheepish apologetic smile. Shira seemed to calm down and continued.

"As I was saying. She knocked you down because you weren't paying attention. Being arrogant makes you the weakest of everyone who's surrounding you. So don't let me catch you playing mister undefeatable, alright?" She said with a faint smile. Yura smiled back and nodded. Then suddenly a muffled sound came out, Yura looked around and there it was again. The sound soon came out to be a muffled laugh that soon broke free. Moon was clutching her sides from laughter.

"Di…did you see Yura's face? God, how funny you looked!" She said between laughs and Shira soon cracked out as well. Sarah frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's not fair, I couldn't see anything." She pouted but soon smiled a very small smile.

"But I could hear his trembling voice." Then she started laughing as well. Yura watched everyone with one disappointed frown.

"So who is going to fight me!" He whined while waving his arms up and down. Moon wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up.

"I will." She declared.

"Perfect." Yura said with a smirk and took his position and stance, took out his medium, a set of bone fangs, and then Seriou appeared right beside him and gave a greeting bark to everyone.

"Ready?" Shira asked.

"I won't hold back like last time." Yura warned.

"I'm not expecting you to." She responded. Both were smiling, Sarah could feel the anxious will to fight boil inside of them as she went to sit on the ground near the wall of the house, facing Shira from the other side.

"Get set." Shouted Shira and they both activated their oversouls, Yura's was a huge oversoul, not too big but it was covering half of Yura's arm from Sarah's view. The oversoul was actually quite simple, the last four sharp fangs on the bottom jaw grew longer encircling Yura's left arm till the elbow while the rest was dangling up and down, copying the fangs of the great beasts, waiting to catch something between the huge white teeth. Sarah could sense that there was always something between those two that she and Moon could never have in a battle.

"GO!" Shira shouted and the two ran as fast as wind towards each other. Each one raising their weapons, ready to strike. Yura swiped his now hook like oversoul, Sarah didn't even notice when he had changed its shape, he was that fast. Moon avoided it by quickly jumping up, raised her Kwan dao right above her head, and slashed down with force. Yura took a fast step to the left, perfectly dodging the attack. The Kwan Dao hit the ground, Moon clutched it with both of her hands and used it to swing herself and give a good kick to Yura. It hit, and it made him stagger slightly.

_When did Moon change her scythe to a Kwan Dao?_ Sarah asked herself frowning. She swore to herself that she would concentrate and figure out exactly what the two do while fighting. The two of them kept on the same rhythm, one attacking and the other dodging or counter-attacking. Those synchronized movements, as if they had no second thoughts at all, as if they could read each other's mind. One would attack and the other would dodge. From Sarah's view, it looked so cool, so beautiful, this well rehearsed dance. Why was it so different when she and Moon trained together? Why was Moon so hesitant, so slow, when she fought her? Because they were close friends or because she was blind? Or was it something else? Sarah frowned in confusion. She couldn't exactly put her finger on it. Moon would never do anything or think of anything like that. What was it then? Whatever it is, the fight was too interesting to drift into thoughts like those.

The oversouls clashed against each other, each one trying to over power the other. Finally, they give up and the two teenagers took a jump backwards, each of them one step away from the white line that formed the circle of their arena. They were both panting really hard.

"You're holding back. What are you hiding?" Moon asked while panting, trying to give a smile.

"So you saw through it, huh? Alright, no need to keep it hidden anymore." Yura raised his fang oversoul and the sharp teeth suddenly seemed longer and sharper. They extended to the form of a huge drill. Moon took her position, ready to face whatever comes, clutching her oversoul and standing firmly on the ground. Yura gave a satisfied smirk, _Good, stand firmly and don't move at all, it shouldn't hurt too much._ He thought and then, with all his strength, he stabbed the ground in front of him, so deep that he had to kneel down. Moon looked startled but still firm.

"Dance Of The Impalers!" He shouted and about more than ten fangs appeared in a row in front of him, as if encircling him, then another popped out of the ground right in front of the row from before, then again, and it suddenly started popping out so fast that Moon couldn't even follow. She tried to jump up but her legs were suddenly powerless! After forcing herself too hard, she jumped up high enough to avoid any of the killing needles that popped out right where she was standing. She looked for a place to land in but she found out the horrible reality that she had hoped to be only her imagination, that the entire arena was covered with Yura's weird oversoul. Wondering where she will go to now, she finally remembered that Yura was actually still there, standing on a _still_ empty space, if she squeezed in, she would fit in there with him, she might even push him out of the line and win.

Too deep in her thoughts, she failed to sense the huge bones growing taller behind her until…

"Sealing Fangs!" Yura called out and she looked behind her. Three huge canine teeth were slithering behind her just like snakes, before she could react to anything, before she could even turn around, one of them wrapped itself around her waist. The other two turned into fangs and bit her arms, leaving them unable to move. Thin lines of blood raced down her arms that are now held away from her body. Yura smirked as he saw her vainly trying to free herself. Swinging her legs violently or grunting while trying to escape.

"Heh, I won!" Yura announced.

"No you didn't." Shira said quickly.

"Wha? But I…"

"Look." She pointed at Moon.

"She still has her oversoul. I don't count who has the upper hand now, you're level is higher than that now. The one who uses up all of his Foryoku is the loser; last one standing is the winner." She stated simply.

"Huh, so I just have to hold her there till she dries out?" Yura asked sounding confident.

"You forgot one thing Yura." He heard Moon say and he looked up to see her smirking quite happily, she seemed sure of something. Yura frowned confused.

"What?"

"Bones are _my_ specialty." She stated and then called for Kanil. Yura's eyes grew wide.

"Kanil! Enter the silver bracelet."

"Are you ready for _my_ new attack Yura?" She asked him as a strong light started to emanate from her bracelet in a sphere shape. Yura gulped, he couldn't move at all and his attack was still new, he didn't know how to turn it back! He was stuck!

"Sleeping Dawn!" The light exploded and nothing could be seen from the intense light. Sarah couldn't see the light but she could feel the waves of energy and suddenly started moaning, then she felt Shira holding on to her, shielding her.

Inside the arena, the energy released had caused the bones to turn to dust. Moon was free now, but still in the air. She used her chance, as Yura stood there unmoving and stunned.

"Burning Needles Of The Sky!" She waved her right hand in a half circle in front of her and the dust that has yet to settle turned into tiny needles of bone and they all charged towards Yura, so fast that he swore he could see them burning. They pierced his clothes and pinned him to the floor. Moon finally reached the ground with a heavy thud, the light slowly faded but not yet, and the dust started slowly to clear. Yura was still struggling to overpower the needles.

"I won." Moon breathed and then staggered slightly. Her oversoul had already disappeared. After her sight went blurry, she felt her body going numb. But she hit something, or…did something support her? Wait, it was a someone. Someone had his arm wrapped around her waist, pressing her to that person's body, helping her stand. She felt a hand slowly touch her cheek, it was so warm and it held her heavy head from dropping down. She leaned to the warmth, a smile spreading on her face. She felt the hand slowly making a caressing motion. She opened her eyes and what she saw **was** who she had suspected, smiling down at her. But it still hit her like a ball thrown at her face, which turned red from embarrassment.

"Y-Yura!" She whispered in surprise. Then she quickly pushed him away.

"I…I…I can stand on my own!" She said while looking away, trying to regain her composure. Yura merely smiled at her.

"Really? Because you look kind of wobbly."

"N-No, I'm fine." She said looking down as she moved aside some stray hair strands and placed them behind her ears. There was a pause. Yura slowly came closer and lifted his right arm, reaching out for hers. She jerked away.

"Let me heal you." He said. Moon looked at her arms and saw the blood running down. Yura tried again and this time he placed his hands on her wounds and a bright blue-green light emitted from them.

"Sorry I was so reckless. I shouldn't have bit that hard." He apologized. Moon shook her head.

"Nothing to be sorry about. I see I wounded you too." She said reaching out to his neck. He felt her finger run along from the bottom of his neck to the middle of his cheek, seemingly wiping something. When she reached a certain part, he jerked his head away with a hiss. Moon retracted her hand. Yura noticed that it was partly covered with blood. Moon giggled when she saw the look on his face.

"My needles dummy! They gave you multiple scratches all over." She said with a bright smile, closing her eyes. Yura simply blinked at her and smiled.

"W-What happened?" Sarah's startled voice rang out from behind the dust. The two looked at the direction of the voice. The dust slowly cleared, revealing Sarah's worried and confused face and Shira slowly getting up from her position over Sarah.

"Um…I won." Moon answered as if it was quite clear.

"Didn't you see us?" Yura asked after no response from the two.

"All I saw was waves of energy and they nearly knocked me out if it wasn't for Shira." Sarah said with a slight pout.

"You haven't used this attack in training...was that..._that_ attack?" Shira asked as she got up, arms crossed over her chest and the smirking smile not leaving her face. Shira seemed impressed. Moon nodded at her question.

"I tried to control it better than last time, you know. But it seems like I still need to work on that." She looked at Sarah with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Sarah."

"No, it's okay. Answer me one thing in return, how come you fight so well with Yura and not with me?" Moon blinked slightly.

"Ah, being jealous are we?" Yura said as he slipped his arm around Moon's back and placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled Moon closer. Moon had a confused look on her face.

"That's because me and Moon have been fighting for quite a long time. I know her tactics and she knows mine. So every time we fight we try to surprise the other with new attacks, new moves. Simply say, we push each other to see who's the best in the very end." Yura explained. Sarah pouted.

"I hate it when you act so high and mighty over me Mister I'm-two-years-older-than-you." Sarah muttered.

"But I am two years older than you! And what did I say wrong this time?" Yura said in an innocent way but still spreading his arms as if he was accused by something big. Moon smirked, lifted Yura's arm, and walked to where Shira was, smirking all the while and shaking her head. _These two just love to annoy each other._ She said to herself and then she felt something fall on her nose. She looked up and saw dark clouds, ready to rumble and shout. Expressing itself, showing that the sky is upset about something and wants to cry. And it did, the rain started pouring down in no time, as if some huge god was pouring himself a cup of tea and his arm slipped. Moon chuckled at that thought and put two fingers on her lips to try and stop herself. Of course, mister god had just come from a busy, tiring day of work and then misses goddess comes and pours tea on his cloths, of course he'd be mad and would start rumbling and shouting! Moon was pulled back to the real world by Shira.

"Moon get in here already before you catch yourself a cold!" Shira shouted over the loud sound of rain. Both Yura and Sarah were inside the house, waiting for her to come inside. Moon shook her head as she felt the hard rain knocking at it, she lifted her hands over her head to block the rain and paced towards the door.

Once she was in, Shira closed the door and everyone heaved a sigh.

"What took you so long to realize that it's raining?" Yura asked.

"It doesn't matter now. Go and change your clothes, you're soaked wet from head to toe." Shira said and Moon complied. She couldn't refuse to that, she was already shivering. She noticed the towels on each of her friend's shoulders. _They got wet too? How long was I in my dream world?_

Moon came out after taking a quick warm shower and saw Shira making four mugs of nice hot chocolate with marshmallows. She went back to her room and came back carrying a wooden chair to sit on. A house for two isn't really the best house to have guests in the kitchen. Shira placed a mug in front of everyone, the little table was now very crowded.

"Where will you sit Aunt Shira?" Sarah asked as she felt where the mug was placed. Yura smiled a nice smile but his eyes had a tinge of hurt in them, he pushed the mug towards her hands and she mumbled a shy thank you.

"Oh, no place to sit really, I don't want to sit on the sofa either. But I can lean on the counter. Anyway, no need to worry about me." Shira said with a smile.

"How will you go back Sarah?" Moon asked as she took a sip.

"Oh I already called dad, he should be here soon." She replied.

"And how will you make your way through the mud until you reach the car?" Yura asked. Sarah thought for a moment.

"I'm sure he thought of that already. But how did it rain so hard when it was such a nice day?"

"Well it was rather cloudy." Moon said with a distant look.

"But say, why did you called that attack Sleeping Dawn? It makes no sense!" Yura said after a moment of silence. Moon smiled.

"It's the shape of the attack; it looks as if the moon is coming out. Like the sun's dawn, but in the shape of the moon. And most people would be asleep when the moon is high up in the night sky. So that's why." Yura blinked and nodded.

"And what about you? How did you come up with slithering bones?" Moon asked.

"Oh, well, I decreased the amount of marrow in each bone, making it more bendable. Or you can simply say I gave them osteomalacia by decreasing the amount of Vitamin D." He said with a giggle and both of the girls chuckled.

"I'm learning more and more diseases from you Yura." Sarah commented after a few moments. Suddenly someone knocked at the door.

"That fast?" Shira said in a slightly surprised tone and went to open the door.

"Does your dad have motorcycle legs to get through the forest that fast?" Yura asked. Sarah snorted slightly and smirked.

"Of course! He's my daddy after all." She said proudly.

"Why don't you stay for a while, I have enough hot cocoa just for one more mug." They heard Shira say, trying to persuade Sarah's father to enter.

"But I'm in a hurry!" Was his excuse. Sarah got off the chair and stretched her arms, trying to grab her father's arm.

"Aw come on daddy! It's nice and warm." She teamed up with Shira. Jerry finally gave his sigh of defeat and stepped inside after taking off his shoes. He sat on the sofa and took the mug of hot chocolate that Shira offered. Once each of them was done, they got up and went to leave. Sarah wore the rubber boots her father had brought and Jerry took out his own rubber boots from a plastic bag.

"Told ya he'd think of something!" She said as she wore a plastic bag over the boots.

"Yeah but…why plastic bags as well?" Yura asked the same question that all of them were wondering.

"Well, so that the car wouldn't get muddy from the inside." Jerry said with a sheepish smile.

"We take the bags off just as we want to enter it, the plastic bags get muddy but not our shoes. It's a good way to spare time and effort." Sarah completed with a smile and they both set out. Sarah waved goodbye and the other three shouted their goodbyes back and closed the door.

"What about you Yura? How will you go home?" Moon asked after a moment of silence. Yura thought for a while.

"How about I stay for the night? Do you mind Aunt Shira? Tomorrow's a weekend after all." He asked, Moon smiled and Shira shrugged.

"Fine with me, won't be the first time you sleep on the floor. But call your father and ask him first." She said and with an "Okay" Yura went to the living room and took out the phone.

"We have to take that extra mattress out of the roof cupboard." Shira commented as she started washing the mugs. Moon hummed her respond from behind her. Silence again.

"Um, Shira?" Moon started hesitantly.

"Yes?" Shira said as she turned around.

"Um…" She tried to find the words but couldn't and slowly lifted her hand to cover her forehead and part of her face, which was in a grimaced form of pain.

"Moon what's wrong? Do you have a headache?" Shira asked sounding slightly worried.

"Yeah, I mean no! I mean, I…I don't feel so…ah." She fell and Shira caught her with a yelp. Yura came out to see what was happening only to see a crazed Shira and an unconscious Moon in her arms.

"What happened?" He asked as he moved closer.

"I - I don't know. She just…fell. Without any warning." Shira said trying to sound calm. They both lifted Moon and lied her down on the sofa. Shira did everything Yura told her to.

"Do you think we should call your father?" Shira asked worriedly.

"No." Yura answered solemnly.

"But she's so cold!" Shira exclaimed. Yura stretched his arm to touch Moon's cheek, indeed, it was very cold. His eyebrows knotted together as he thought. _This coldness…this isn't normal. She's not shivering, and even if she got wet for so long, it shouldn't be like this. Even if she consumed all of her Foryoku…then what is it? This sensation…isn't so unfamiliar. Is this…my fault?_ Suddenly something stung his hand and he jerked it away with a hiss of pain.

"What's wrong now?" Shira asked.

"Nothing." He muttered and touched the injury Moon had caused on his cheek. It was burning in pain.

"Damn it…" He muttered to himself as his eyes started to burn as well. He closed them tight and covered them with his palm, trying forcefully to make the pain go away.

"Yura what's wrong?" Shira asked, now seriously worried.

"Nothing!" He burst out. Shira blinked.

"I…I'll go and wash my face." He said trying to sound calm; he stood up and headed for the bathroom, not lowering his hand at all. Shira stayed at her spot, sitting near Moon's head on the sofa, slowly caressing her cheek and moving away stray hair strands.

Once Yura closed the bathroom door with an unintentional force, he opened the water tab and stared at the mirror. A pair of dangerous-looking red eyes with the pupils of a cat stared back at him. He closed his eyes shut and splashed his face with cold water.

"Not now…" He said to himself. Then a surge of pain rushed through him and he grimaced. He looked at the mirror again; the same deadly red eyes stared back at him. He touched his injured cheek and the two red eyes appeared on it. The scar Moon gave him cutting exactly through them. He hissed in pain again.

"Please not now." He pleaded as he heavily leaned on the wall.

* * *

Thunder: Hehe, okay…that turned out longer than I have expected. I hope you liked it though.

Please Review!


	32. Chapter 32

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 32**

**A Riddle**

_"Mm…Where…Where am I?" Moon asked herself as she woke up in a very dark place._

_"You're in your world…and mine." A familiar voice answered her question. She turned around to the source of the voice. There, sitting on a lonely rock in the middle of a black sea, was the man who had always sailed through Moon's dreams. The man with the black robe and hood. He sat there smiling, no, smirking with satisfaction that he had succeeded in dragging her to this cursed place. She glared at him. She had always hated him._

_"Why…did you bring me here?" She asked coldly. He looked up, his eyes still hidden in the shadow behind the hood._

_"To do what my master has ordered me to do." He answered standing up, his feet breaking the tranquility that has taken over this untouched sea of black. The waves slowly moved in circles that got bigger and bigger until they splashed and hit the dark grey shore on which Moon stood. A soft but barely felt breeze went past them, causing the sea to move once again._

_"Master told me to prepare you." He said as he proceeded to the shore._

_"For what?" She asked warily._

_"You are not allowed to know." He simply replied._

_"Why not?" She asked in a stubborn way._

_"You are not allowed to know." He answered in the same monotone voice. Moon frowned._

_"So what will you do to prepare me?" She asked after a while._

_"Mental preparations have been made." That confused Moon even more._

_"What do you mean with mental preparation?" She asked, her voice slightly wavering._

_"You are not allowed to know." His voice made Moon shiver. She has seen him many times in her dreams, she knows nothing about him, though…sometimes she felt him…warning her from something…is that what's happening now? But still, his attitude, his behavior, everything was totally different, as if he was some kind of robot. She took a step backwards. He was walking slowly; he had just passed half of the distance between the rock and the shore. But still, she felt him running towards her; she had a feeling that this time, this dream, will be worse than all of the ones before._

_"Preparations in the real world will soon be implied." He continued._

_"What are you planning to do?" She asked slowly._

_"You are not allowed to know." Moon gritted her teeth, she got tired of this 'you're not allowed' thing._

_"Master ordered me to give you the riddle." He said once he was five steps away from her. She swallowed._

_"What is this riddle?" She asked taking another step back, now that the man stepped on the sand._

_"It is more of a choice that you have to choose by understanding what the riddle means." He said, a smile tugging at his lips. Moon felt the hair on the back of her neck stand, his voice has this mocking feeling to it, she was sure now, this __**isn't**__ the man with the black robe. Then…who could it be? She stood firmly and swallowed her fears._

_"You will be given a week to solve the riddle and make your choice." Moon nodded but still stiffened. What in the word is that riddle about?_

_"A Friend will die, your thoughts will collide, on the inside, are you dead or alive? The giant living underneath, he will soon be freed, the wrath will be unleashed, on the inside, are you dead or alive? The black rose will arise, the dead thorns will sting, will you be the queen? But on the inside, __**are**__ you dead __**or**__ alive? That you must find." The man stated. Moon had no idea what it meant. A few moments later, the man began to quiver. Soon after, he fell to the ground motionless. The minutes passed by so slowly, Moon almost felt the urge to go and shake him awake. Because normally, she would wake up if the dream has finished its purpose, she was still in there, so…there's more to come?_

_It felt like she was standing there for hours, the man still didn't move. That does it; she ran towards him and stopped dead once she was in front of him. Now what? What should she do? She has always considered him the enemy, the bad guy, and now…she wants to see if he was alright? How could that be right? The problem is that whenever she saw him, she felt a very faint sense of pity towards him. Why was that? What was the cause for his constant haunting? More and more questions popped up in Moon's mind, the most important one, the one that Moon kept repeating is, Is what she's doing right or wrong?_

_She swallowed once more and knelt down. It was as if he was dead. She carefully reached out and turned him to his back. His hood was still covering his head and eyes. It was then that she realized, she had never actually seen his face, she has no idea who he really is, if he was real or not. She hesitated, but then reached out to remove the hood. The face of a young man was revealed, young, about a little over twenty in age with brown chestnut hair. Moon, for some reason, looked at him very confused. She never thought that a man so handsome would hide under his hood for so long. His fine eyebrows twitched and his eyes barely opened. A moment later they snapped open, revealing two big grey eyes, they were red for some reason, doesn't he sleep? Moon backed away with a gasp. The man sat there, staring at her in shock. Moon new it was a very bad idea, but never new how bad until he jumped at her, yelling. Moon was paralyzed with shock; the impact caused her to fall on her back on the sandy beach, with _him_ over her, pinning her down. Catching her by the wrists. He looked shocked as well, but more than that, the expression on his face showed fear._

_"Do not forget that riddle!" He yelled for a start._

_"Do not forget it no matter what happens! Write it down; engrave it on stone if you must!" He was frantic, that was clear. Moon kept trying to free her wrists from his grip, but no use._

_"Get off of me!" She finally yelled._

_"No, no! You must listen, you must! Just this once! Never, never ever listen to what the master has to say! Never play as his puppet! Never accept what he says! Always refuse! Bear with the pain bear with it! The pain that comes with defeat is worse!" He kept yelling those vague warnings._

_"What are you talking about? Let go!" Moon almost beat him into a sitting position, but with him over her, it was too hard. _Never play as his puppet? Is that what happened moments ago? _Moon asked herself._

_"The vessel!" He said then licked his lips. He overpowered Moon and pinned her down on the floor again._

_"Listen to me!" He said, he sounded calmer, considering the way he was acting before._

_"The vessel! That is us! We are the little toys of those merciless monsters! Never let them take over! Never give them the chance! Don't be as weak as I was! I'm here to warn you! I'm here because I don't want you to do the same mistake that I have once done! I have surrendered to my weakened state and it cost me too much! You must hold on, you listen? You must!" He started getting frantic again. Moon's anger soon faded and fear replaced it._

_"I-I don't understand!" She said, her wrists were aching from the man's tight grip. She was about to beg him to let go but suddenly he did so on his own, the freaked look never leaving his face. He let go and pulled up the robe's sleeve on his right arm to the elbow, revealing a very small tattoo on the inner side, above the wrist and a few centimeters away from his elbow. There was the tattoo of an upside down pentagon; next to each side of it was one side of a triangle. The base of each triangle was settled on the same side of the previous triangle, which touched the pentagon's side. The middle of the pentagon had weird lines crossing each other, giving it a 3D look. If looked at from afar, it would seem like a very edgy rose, a stone rose._

_"The black rose will arise." Repeated the man, still sitting over Moon._

_"The black rose?" Moon whispered as she leaned on both elbows behind her. From the tiny gaps between each triangle, slithered a vine that was filled with thorns. The five vines kept slithering until they have encircled his entire arm. Moon gasped._

_"The dead thorns that sting!" It all suddenly started to get clear. From the yelling and shouting and the shock from before, she could barely make out the words that have been spoken. But now that she suddenly calmed down, it kind of made sense. The man nodded, seeming to calm down. He opened his mouth, apparently trying to say something, but then the vines slithered so fast that Moon couldn't even follow, soon they had the man's entire body trapped in a cage of thorns, they were long and sharp. The man gritted his teeth and closed his eyes shut. Moon could've sworn she saw the thorns growing longer, digging deeper into his skin. But once a shed of blood ran down, an electrical surge flowed throw the vines and came out of the tips of the thorns. The man screamed in pain. Moon got scared and scrambled away with a shriek. Once she was in a safe distance she turned around to see the man screaming and twisting in pain, the more he twisted the deeper the thorns would go and the more electricity flowed. She just sat there paralyzed, shocked and panting for breath._

_"Forgive me master! Please forgive me! I swear I won't say any more, I swear I swear." He yelled in pain. After a few moments, the vines retracted and went back to the tiny gaps they once came from. The man lied there, gasping and panting for air. After a while of no sound except for that of the air going in and out of their chests, the man slowly turned his head towards Moon, a faint smirk on his face._

_"And that is what happens when you rebel on their commands." He said in a low voice, still catching up on his breath._

_"A - Are you okay?" She asked after a moment. He turned his head again and this time he had a joking-disbelieving smile on his face._

_"The young Nataly actually cares for me?" He asked in surprise. Moon looked away, slightly lowering her head in shame._

_"Hey, it's okay. I was only joking. And sorry for all that before, I know I was acting a bit crazy there."_

_"A bit?" Moon cut in. The man laughed and nodded in understanding._

_"Nothing wrong with me though, I'm in my world and here…I can change everything according to will..." He said as he sat up. He looked around for a few minutes._

_"Though that has been changed when you came in, I can now only change what belongs to me." He completed. Moon looked up with a frown._

_"Listen, you have been chosen as the master's next vessel. I am the current one, but I don't have much time to live." He said._

_"Why?" She asked confused._

_"Because when a carrier dies, the beast searches for a new vessel to carry out whatever it wants, but sometimes it is chosen by fate and not by the beast. And that is what happened in your case." He explained._

_"That's okay. What I meant to ask you was why you don't have much time to live. You look young." She said, cuddling her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them. The man looked taken aback but then he smiled, though his eyes looked very sad._

_"I am sick, that is why." He answered._

_"But can't you get better?" She asked. She sounded childish when she asked those questions; even she had a hard time finding out why exactly she was asking such a question. The man shook his head, still smiling._

_"It cannot be cured, this sickness. And I don't have much time left now. I spent my life warning you, once I knew that you were chosen, I felt like it was my fault. So I decided to warn you for what's ahead."_

_"But then…why all those dark things? Why does it seem like you only introduce death and loneliness?"_

_"Because that is what awaits you." Moon paused at that, letting the words sink in._

_"Why?" She asked hesitantly._

_"Didn't you understand anything from the riddle?" he asked with a chuckle. Moon blushed slightly as she remembered the words from the riddle and the ones the man had yelled out before. _Are you dead or alive? Never give in to weakness…_She nodded._

_"You wanted to warn me?" She asked after a moment of silence._

_"I wanted to protect you."_

_"Who are you? And…why haven't you ever told me this…before?" She asked, looking him straight in the eye. He smiled._

_"I'm David. And I didn't tell you all of this because…I don't really know. I thought that maybe getting you used to being alone, used to seeing death, then it might lessen the shock you might go through. I know it was bad of me to do so but…I didn't know what else to do. I've never talked to people, that's why I find it very hard to explain anything. Besides, you might hate me…which I think you do." He answered with a shrug._

_"No…now that you told me that…I don't feel…scared anymore. But you seem like you're fine now. Why is that?" She asked, tilting her head to one side._

_"Because you and I are the same. We are both alone. We both have nowhere to go, no one to go back to. Well, in your case, you're not alone anymore. But I still am."_

_"Since when?"_

_"Since…I started haunting your dreams." He answered looking away._

_"My parents died from the same sickness that has taken over me, no one wanted to come near me in fear of catching the virus. They put me in hospitals, experimented medicine on me. Then I ran away. I was going to die whether they cured me or not. Everybody dies someday, and my greatest joy was you." He said looking at her._

_"Me?"_

_"Yes, you. Just watching you grow, watching you as you pass through one hardship to the next, watching how you slowly made friends and defeated loneliness. Whenever I thought of the fate that we both share, I feel the urge to protect the happiness that you have fought for." Moon looked at him and blinked. He wore a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head._

_"Okay…maybe that was too deep?" Moon laughed slightly._

_"Why do you always wear that black robe? And why have you never showed me your face?" She asked after a while, pointing at the robe._

_"Oh this? Well um…I could ask you the same thing." He said nodding his head towards her. She looked down on her cloths confused. She hadn't noticed yet but, she was wearing a black T-shirt and black jeans with lots of pockets along with black shoes._

_'Well at least my cloths are normal. I guess everything in here is black. Still, you're avoiding the question." She looked at him with a smirk._

_"Huh? What? No, I was just…! Anyway, I just…like to keep everything secret that's all. It's part of who I am." He said with a grin. Moon hummed her reply. There was silence again._

_"Listen Nataly." He started._

_"You can call me Moon." She cut in. he smiled, taking it as a sign that she now trusted him._

_"Moon, you have a week to solve the riddle. I can't help you with it, because every person has a different riddle of his own. But I __**can**__ tell you one thing, The phrase _Are you dead or alive _and what I have told you before, it means to ask if you would give in to sorrow and grief and eventually grow empty on the inside. So my advice is, never let those feelings win, keep fighting, to keep things good you must fight. You must overpower him." Moon nodded._

_"And…Can I ask you a favor?" He asked hesitantly. Moon looked up at him curiously._

_"After a week, that is when I'd die. Could you possibly…"_

_"I'd do it even if that wasn't the case." She said and he smiled._

_"Could we become friends…during this week?" Moon grinned and nodded._

OOOO

"Yura! Yura are you alright? You've been in there for too long." Shira called out as she knocked on the bathroom's door.

"Just a few more seconds!" he called out.

"Would you just go away?" He hissed annoyed. The large figure in front of him grunted.

"You sure you don't want me to kill someone? Because I'm really hungry here." The deep voice said.

"Then go and make yourself a sandwich!"

"Yura?" He heard Shira call for him again.

"Just go alright?" He begged for the hundredth time and finally the figure sighed in defeat and disappeared in a black mist. Yura let out his sigh of relief and turned around to open the door.

"What were you doing in there and who were you talking to?" Shira asked as she placed her hands on her hips. Yura only gave her sheepish smile.

"I…I needed to calm down you know? I…I needed to hear some words. I was only talking to myself! Hehe heh." He said with a sweat drop, he hoped that Shira would buy his excuse.

"Mmmm, Shira? Yura?" They both heard Moon's voice say and they rushed to the kitchen. Moon sat there on the couch, rubbing her eyes.

"Moon you're alright!" Yura exclaimed.

"Huh? Why shouldn't I be?" She asked confused but then Shira covered her with a big, strong hug.

"What will our training be tomorrow?" Moon asked after Shira let go of her.

"Moon, this isn't the time for this!" Shira said but Moon kept looking at her with wide twinkling black eyes. Shira sighed in defeat.

"Sun will summon up demons and you have to defeat them, the one who defeats the most wins." Moon grinned and Yura sighed. Things were finally back to normal again….for now.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed it and sorry if the description isn't that well…if only I could draw it to you…

Please review!


	33. Chapter 33

Thunder: Have fun!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 33**

**Next Day: Yura's Unrevealed Problem**

Moon woke up and looked over the edge of her bed. Yura was there, hugging his pillow and mumbling incoherent things. She smiled and got up. That night was the first day in which she and David started off being friends in their own dream world. Moon, with the help of David, had managed to show him her favorite things in the sky. The sunrise, the sunset, the stars and the moon. He had told her that the events stated in the riddle happen during a week. But which week? That can never be guessed for the warning is simply a warning, not a stopwatch. So she had to keep her eyes open. She got up and wandered to the window while ruffling her hair. She opened the window and sat on the windowsill, lifting her legs and placing them on the windowsill as well, then rested her arms on her thighs. She was only wearing a sleeveless light blue shirt and grey knee length shorts. But the wind that rushed in wasn't too cold, it was just right for a sunny morning. The weather always gets warmer when the school year ends. She smiled and closed her eyes, breathing in the smell of wet grass and leaves.

"You know I've always liked your hair messy like that." Said Shira as she came into the room. Moon smiled at her.

"You know I hate messy stuff."

"No dad….no more. Leo….gone…" Yura kept mumbling in his sleep.

"He's still asleep, eh?" Shira said with a smirk as she looked down at him. She lifted her foot and gave him a small kick in his side. He jolted up with a yelp.

"Don't eat me, don't eat me!" He yelled with his hands in front on him. The two laughed.

"What in the world were you dreaming about?" Moon asked as she turned around, still sitting on the windowsill but now with her legs inside the house instead of in between. Yura turned around with a confused look. It took him some time to answer though.

"I like your hair messy like that." He noted after a while. Moon's head dropped and Shira laughed.

"What? What did I say wrong this time?"

"It's nothing. You're avoiding the question!" Moon said with a giggle. Yura thought for a moment.

"Ah…just a dream…lot's of imagination going on in here." He said while moving his finger in a circle next to his head. Moon sighed.

"Come on! Breakfast is ready! Dress up and come to the kitchen." Shira announced and went out of the room. Yura sighed and got up; he was only wearing his black sleeveless shirt and his boxers. He went into the bathroom while Moon got dressed herself. Then he came out and they switched.

Breakfast went nice and fast. Sarah soon came in and they all started off with warm-ups. Then it was time for today's training.

"Alright! Today's training is to test how good you are in close-range battles. Sun will summon small demons; they will attack you one by one at first then come at you together. In short, it will get harder the deeper you're in. Any questions?" Shira started as the big coach. Sarah raised her hand and Shira nodded at her.

"Um, how can Sun summon demons?"

"All soul reapers can! Their connected to the underworld after all. Just make sure you're ready, demons can be nasty, especially if we've just freed them. So if you get hurt, well, we'll treat you of course! Okay, let's get started! Sun, who will go first?" Shira asked.

"Sun choose….Susu!" Sun said with a pointing finger, he looked serious and enjoying it at the same time. Sarah took her position and readied her oversoul, the other two went and sat on the ground and leaned on the wall. Sun started chanting the spell to summon the demons. A language they had never known of, a mixture of sounds that was simply not human, not of any animal, but clearly of a demon. The teenagers frowned.

"What do you think he's saying?" Moon asked, her hands cupping her cheeks as she rested her elbows on her knees, her face showed that she was deep in thought but couldn't find the answer.

"Do you want it translated in Sun talk or in normal talk?" Yura stated beside her. He was sitting in the same position but his face had a far away look, _He is in his own world now._ Moon thought as she glanced at him confused. Yura had that annoying habit to leave the world behind and go into his own world; it's kind of like her case, except that it takes a very long time to pull him out of it.

"What do you mean? Can you….understand demon language?" She asked surprised.

"Not exactly but I can make it out, if I will it." He said without looking at her, then he turned his head towards her.

"Do you want me to will it?" He asked. Moon nodded, not sure of what he was saying. Yura looked back at Sun, from the repeated sounds that were made, it seemed like Sun was chanting. Yura listened a little longer.

"Lovers of chaos, you are welcome to come out. Do as I command and tear this world apart. I wish a hundred of you to come. Attack this blonde-haired person of blue eyes. Leave nothing but bone." Yura said monotonously. Moon stared at him, gaping in surprise.

"Ho-How did you understand all of that?"

"It wasn't that easy at all! You should know that in reality it's 'Lover chaos, you welcome come. Do Sun command world. Sun wish hundred. Attack blond blue. Leave no bone.'" Moon stared at him again. Then burst out laughing.

"Seriously! No wonder he's been repeating it for over thirty times now. It only takes ten times for a maximum but I guess he's torturing those poor demons instead of freeing them. I bet their heads are spinning around trying to understand what he's saying!" Moon giggled.

"Ah, seems they've finally figured it out now." Yura stated after a while.

"Hm?" Moon looked up to see lots and lots of tiny demons appear right behind Sun. Some of them talked in demon language.

"They're saying: What do you wish us to do, master Sun? Huh, guess they only figured out half of the chant." Yura translated for Moon. Sun replied to the demon's questions and waited for Shira's signal.

"Okay Sarah, these are demon rookies. You get to fight a hundred of them for now, if you succeed, more will come. Whenever you feel that you can't keep up anymore, just tell me. Alright?" Shira explained. Sarah nodded and tightened her grip on the black scythe. _I haven't seen this kind of power before…even their auras are different. Instead of blue, they're red. They're not even like Sun's, Sun's is grey. _Sarah thought to herself. Sun lifted his hand and then signaled for the demons to attack. Sarah fought and fought, until she couldn't continue anymore. Sun yelled something and the demons stopped. Muttering and growling, they went back to float behind their master. Sarah stood up panting.

"You alright?" Shira asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. How many did I get?"

"76/100" Shira told her.

"Okay, not bad!" Sarah said happily and went to sit down next to the others.

"Next…Yue Se." Sun announced. She stood up and went to her position, then it occurred to her.

"How will I fight without Sun?" She asked. Everyone looked surprised.

"Why not fight with Kanil-san?" Sarah suggested but Moon shook her head.

"Kanil's too powerful when I use her. It reaches a point where I can't control it. I'm better when I'm with Sun." Moon explained.

"Why not give it a try? Use the smallest amount of Foryoku you can manage to pull out." Yura suggested after a moment. Moon thought for a while, then nodded, albeit hesitantly. She and her mother haven't been getting along very well lately.

"Kanil, enter silver bracelet!" Moon commanded. Her mother transformed into spirit ball mode and entered the bracelet. A moment later light started to emit from it, Moon tried to control it, but it barely listened to what she wanted. Still, it took an unstable form. Moon sighed and nodded at Shira, Shira gave the signal then Sun gave his own. The demons started attacking in numerous numbers.

"Skeleton Dance!" Moon started moving around in very fast movements; she had divided the sphere into two so that both of her hands were covered in a pale white light. It took her some hours to finish up though. She kept swinging her arms around, hitting demons and particles of air. With each strike she did, a huge surge of energy flowed, and since she can't really control the amount of Foryoku leaving her body, she ends up making the attack too powerful, so powerful that it kills ten demons per attack. Sarah yelped on the first attack, sensing the same kind of energy from before, eventually she ended up holding onto Yura's arm and keeping close behind him, ducking whenever the power was too high. When Moon's energy finally dried out, Shira told Sun to stop sending more demons. Moon bent and held onto her knees, panting and sweating.

"How many?" Moon asked as she looked up.

"Three hundred. That's great." Yura answered instead of Shira. _Of course they would want her, I brought them to her…and she's so strong too_. He thought to himself. Moon nodded and went to sit down beside him and Sarah. The latter gave a relieved sigh when the news of Moon not fighting anymore sank in. Then Yura got up and everything started all over again. He kept fighting and fighting for what seemed like hours. He finally finished an hour or two before the sunset.

"Well?" He asked looking expectantly.

"Over six hundred." Shira said a little distantly. She was a bit surprised. Yura shrugged and went inside to get a glass of water. Shira called after him but he didn't care. He knew Shira wouldn't allow them to drink water until at least an hour had passed, but he just didn't care. Moon felt something tugging at her shirt; she turned around and saw Sarah.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Do you know why Yura's acting like this?" Sarah asked in a hushed voice.

"No, I don't." Moon answered as she looked where Yura had disappeared.

"His aura was different, instead of blue…it was a mixture of colors, and it was big."

"What colors? How different?" Moon asked in a serious tone.

"It…his aura is normally a light blue, like all of you guys. But now, it was a mixture of red and gray and another weird color, along with his normal light blue." Sarah described. Moon narrowed her eyes.

"Don't worry about it Sarah, he's just acting around. Everything will be fine tomorrow, trust me." She said. Moon smiled at her. She did hope that everything will be back to normal. Everyone noticed after a while how Yura was…different…today, and not just Moon. Shira soon announced that the training was over; Jerry came soon after and took Sarah. Yura would be staying tonight too, so everyone took a shower, had a small dinner and went to bed.

"What's wrong with you today? You seem so…far." Moon asked nonchalantly when they were inside her room.

"Nothing's wrong, I was just deep in thought. That's all." He answered in the same way as he began to unfold his covers and placing them on the mattress. Moon went to sit down on her bed; she rested her arms on her thighs and leaned down closer to his level.

"You actually reached a part where you started screaming." Moon noted quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Yura asked.

"The dream you had last night." She answered. Yura looked at her surprised then bit his lips.

"It was just about an old…friend….and…I remembered Seriou too. When she was still…alive." He stammered looking away. Tears came up to the corners of his eyes.

"Oh…" Moon said in a whisper and went to hug Yura. The tears in his eyes slid down his cheeks as they did so. _Correction to that last sentence, an old enemy that __**killed**__ Seriou…_he thought to himself. He kept biting his lips, not letting the sobs escape. Seriou then appeared and gave him a nudge. Her yellow eyes gleamed at him, soothing him. He faked a smile, Moon pulled back and he hugged the black dog. The tears and sobs came out uncontrollably as the pictures of that night passed through his mind like a flash of light. _It's my fault. _He kept repeating in his mind over and over again. _I was just lucky that you actually stayed after what I've done. What he __**made**__ me do. _Seriou licked his face, even though it only felt like cold wind touching his skin, he loved it, he smiled happily at his two friends, his tears drying out.

"Everything's okay. Seriou is here now. **I** am here now, and we'll always be there for you. Take it from someone who tried it, never remember events like that, keep them away. Once a year is quite enough, right?" Moon said trying to sooth him. Yura nodded with a smile and they both went to bed.

* * *

Thunder: Okay…sorry for the boring chapter. I hope the next one will be better. I hope you enjoyed it though!

Please Review!


	34. Chapter 34

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 34**

**A Clue**

_Moon found herself in that dark world again, but somehow it seemed different. Instead of that open black sea, there were actually tiled floors and paved roads, trees decorating the sides of each rode, or each path. There was a lake far ahead and trees circled it as well, there was a bridge connecting one side of the lake to the other, for those who are too lazy to walk around it. Everything was black and grey though, nothing too new for this place. She walked about and reached the lake, ten paces away from her was the bridge._

_"Follow me." She heard a very, very deep voice call out. Even deeper than David and Sun's voice. She looked around until she spotted a big black horse on the other side of the lake. The rider looked like a gladiator, he had a black helmet on, a very dark black color, Moon could only see the red gleaming eyes that shone from behind the helmet's shield__. His helmet had feathers on its top, like old roman gladiators used to have, but instead of red feathers, his feathers were a dark black. In fact, his entire costume was a very dark black. He was holding a sword in his hand and a long spear was fastened with a strong string to the side of the horse's saddle. Moon was too far away to make out the colors of the sword though; it seemed different from any sword she's ever seen._

_"Follow me." He repeated and then his horse snorted and stabbed the soil with one of his hooves, then he set out and ran towards a forest. Moon didn't get the chance for a second thought, she ran after it with the speed of light. After running for too long she heard the sound of water flowing with high speed, then the far away voice of a horse neighing. She quickly changed her course towards that direction. The sounds eventually grew louder and closer, until she reached a small area, where the river was. The gladiator was on the other side of the river; his horse was very huge, even his horse had red gleaming eyes. The gladiator looked at her with narrow eyes; she didn't need to see his face in order to understand that he was looking at her in disgust._

_"Who are you?" She asked after catching her breath._

_"The sky will turn black the night before the bright sphere turns to solid ice, banned away from all the light." He told her after a moment._

_"What? Who are you and what are you saying?" She asked with a confused voice. The gladiator's eyes gleamed again, this time taking the shape of amusement, Moon was sure that she could hear some evil chuckling coming from underneath his helmet._

_"That should be a little clue to your previous riddle, a signal. And about me…you won't live long enough to find out, I'll make sure of that myself." He said and suddenly everything caught on fire. Moon was startled, she still has a thing against fire, it still scared her. She moaned in fear at the beginning, but when the flames encircled her and got higher and higher, she started to scream. Just then, she fell into a deafening silence, everything turned black, the only voice she could hear was the distant sound of her name being called out._

* * *

"Moon, Moon, Moon! Moon wake up already!" It was Yura, trying to violently shake her awake. Moon finally snapped her eyes open; she gave a weird sound of a shriek, a mixture of a gasp and a strangled scream. As a reflex, she hugged Yura and clutched his shirt from his back, her breath came out as a very fast pace of wheezing.

"Hey, Moon…it's okay, everything's okay. No need to worry." He tried to soothe but it only seemed like it helped a very tiny bit. She lessened her grip on his back but gripped the front of his shirt instead and started crying. She already had her face buried in his chest, so it just sank deeper. Yura didn't know what to do, he unconsciously stroked her hair in a soothing motion, after a while of doing absolutely nothing, he carefully turned to his side with Moon still clutching him, he pulled the covers over both of them, then he slowly lied down on the bed. Making sure that Moon's head was comfortably placed on the pillow. He continued stoking her hair until her crying died down to small, low sobs. Then his eyes felt heavy and soon he fell asleep, is free arm unconsciously wrapped around Moon's waist. Moon fell asleep as well just a few minutes after; she unconsciously wrapped her arms around Yura's waist too and rested her forehead on his chest. The only sound left in the room was that of the two's deep, peaceful, slow breaths. Kanil was watching all of that from the corner of the room, a small chuckle came out of her and her lips curled up into a smile, then she disappeared.

* * *

The next morning Shira came in to see the two teenagers in that position. Both were very deep in sleep. Moon had an arm around Yura's chest and another lying beside her head with her fingers curled up, while Yura had one arm around Moon's waist and the other under the part between Moon's head and neck. Shira frowned slightly and leaned on the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest, her expression showing that she's deep in thought. Then she smirked and went out of the room.

"It's not what you're thinking." Kanil broke the chain of her happy thoughts.

"What?" Shira asked, a little confused.

"Nataly just had a bad dream, that's all." Kanil explained. Shira blinked.

"Oh, I kind of thought her position was kind of familiar. But…" Her voice trailed off and she chuckled.

* * *

Yura woke up, his hand travelled upwards, feeling something strange and new... he felt something like hair…first he thought it was Seriou, then he remembered that Seriou couldn't feel like that, besides, that didn't feel like fur. He frowned and opened his eyes, then pulled back with a startled gasp as he saw Moon. Her hand fell from its previous position but thankfully, that didn't wake her up, she took a deep breath and pulled it to her chest, a small smile on her lips. He felt himself blushing furiously, all kinds of thoughts rushed through his head, of what people would think if they saw them like this, thoughts of why he was in the same bed as her…then it occurred to him that he had done so to help soothe Moon. After calming down a bit he placed his head back down on the pillow, staring at Moon's face. He lifted his hand to caress her cheek but stopped midway and glanced at the clock, he decided to get up instead, he was late already.

* * *

Moon finally woke up to Shira's morning call for breakfast. She sat up and took a deep breath while stretching her arms. She glanced at the clock and fell out of her bed with a gasp. She quickly got up with a shocked expression on her face and got dressed, found herself a paper and pen and wrote down the riddle or _clue_ that she got earlier. Then she was at the kitchen in less than three minutes.

"Two minutes and thirty seconds." Yura announced one Moon flung the room's door open. He had a stopwatch in his hand, which confused Moon even more.

"Aww….Moon, couldn't you have taken a little more time in there?" Shira asked with disappointed eyes. Her arms were dangling loosely by her sides, a sign of defeat.

"A bet is a bet aunt Shira. Now give me those five dollars you owe me." Said Yura in a very happy tone.

"What's going on?" Moon asked confused as she sat down on the table.

"Well first, Shira left us to rest longer today. Second, I woke up before you so I won on the first part of the race. Third, Shira and I decided to have a bet on how long it'll take you to finish everything and come out here. I won." Yura explained happily.

"I said that you'd take five minutes or more, and…" Shira's voice trailed off, her voice was showing utter defeat. Then she pointed an accusing finger at Yura.

"He said that you'd only take less than three minutes! That's not fair!" She exclaimed.

"Hand over the money. We both agreed that the winner of the bet gets five dollars, no objections." Yura said with his normal confident voice and attitude, a smirk on his lips as he opened his palm and motioned with his fingers for Shira to hand it over.

"So not fair…"Shira muttered then sighed in defeat and gave him his five dollars.

"Yes!" Yura whispered and made a fist with a wide grin. Moon smiled then couldn't help but chuckle at her friends, her family. What would she do without them?

Breakfast soon went by happily in an atmosphere full of jokes and laughter.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you enjoyed it!

Please review!


	35. Chapter 35

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 35**

**Give It A Thought**

The first week is almost over, leaving only one week left for school. And Moon still hasn't figured out a thing.

"Okay let's think about it, the clue is supposed to lead you to the start of the original riddle, yes?" Sarah said as she and Moon walked through the schoolyard. Moon nodded.

"And the clue states that the sky would turn black the night before some sphere thingy gets banned away from light? And was there something about solid ice?"

"It's _The sky will turn black the night before the bright sphere turns to solid ice, banned away from all the light._" Moon repeated the clue.

"Okay! So it's telling us the day that the sky will turn black."

"We got that."

"So all we have to do is figure out that day."

"How?"

"Well, let's think! It's the day before the bright sphere gets banned away from light. What bright spheres do we have?"

"Well, if the sky will turn black, that means some sort of light will be…turned of?"

"Okay, makes sense somehow…." Sarah thought as she crossed her arms thinking, one arm was held from the elbow by Moon, who leaded her away from anything she might trip on.

"Which sky will turn black?"

"Huh?"

"The night sky is a dark blue, but not black. While the day sky is a bright blue."

"And?"

"It has to be one, the night before the bright sphere turns to solid ice, banned away from all the light. The sun cannot be banned from light because it's the source of light. While the moon…"

"Takes its light from the sun and it goes into a wane state every month, it loses its light!" Moon completed with an excited expression on her face.

"Yeah but, it also says that it turns to solid ice…it could be a figure of speech but…"

"But the moon doesn't exactly lose _all_ of its light when it enters the wane state, only most of it….so…" Moon said as she crossed her arms and put one hand on her chin.

"We still haven't figured it out." Sarah finished for her. Silence entered their conversation; each of them was trying to come up with a solution.

"When is the next lunar eclipse?" Moon suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Sarah looked at her confused.

"The moon loses temperature faster than the earth. If a lunar eclipse occurred, the temperature on the moon's surface would drop below zero Celsius. Below the freezing point."

"Solid ice, of course! So now we know when the sky would turn black, a day before the lunar eclipse. But what does the black sky mean?"

"It's just a signal; we'll know it once we see it. Your dad should know when the next lunar eclipse would be; ask him when you get back." Moon said and Sarah nodded.

"…do you know that I wasn't allowed to tell this to anyone." She said more of a sentence than a question. Sarah chuckled nervously.

"What do you mean? They're gonna come after me or something?" Moon was silent for a moment.

"No, I wouldn't let them put a finger on you. Not even in death." Moon stated solemnly. Sarah looked at her confused but soon brushed it off as the bell rang.

* * *

"I'll race you to the house!" Shira said excitedly as they entered the forest.

"Mm, I'm not in the mood right now." Said Moon.

"Aw come on! Take it as a warm up, please." Shira pleaded.

"But I…" Moon couldn't finish because Shira grabbed her arm and started running, pulling Moon behind her. Moon gave a sigh and ran along, albeit slower.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just a bit tired today. Ah!" She tripped and fell with a thump. Shira stopped and walked back to her, a frown on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asked nonchalantly as she crouched in front of her. Moon sat down and held her knee. Shira chuckled slightly.

"Scraped your knee?"

"Uh, ah…yeah! Just scraped it. Heh." Moon said with a nervous laugh. Shira frowned slightly.

"It's bleeding quite a lot for a tiny scrape….you sure nothing happened?" Shira said pointing at the bloodstained trousers Moon was wearing. Moon shook her head no. Shira gave her a skeptical look. Moon grinned at her in return.

"Let me see it." She said as she stretched out her hands and rolled up the trousers. Moon reluctantly accepted and looked the other way. Shira's eyes suddenly opened wide.

"Moon…that wound would have surely went across your patella and it must be shattered now."

"It's…nothing." Moon said idly. _"Yura, you were late today."_ Moon muttered inside her head. Those boys started using knifes and Yura would come at the end of school to heal the wounds, just before Shira came, but today he didn't come at all.

"What do you mean nothing?"

"I can still walk, so nothing's that bad."

"Moon…who did this to you?" Moon looked at her confused, Shira was being very serious.

"What?" Moon asked after a very long pause.

"I just fell in front of you, how can possibly anyone do it to me?" Moon said looking away.

"Look me in the eye and say it." Moon kept silent, Shira stretched her hand and lifted Moon's head from her chin, and Moon was still looking away.

"Moon." Shira said in a warning tone.

"You…don't trust me? No one did it to me, okay? I just fell, right here, right now." Moon said firmly and stood up; she winced slightly when she slightly moved her knee. Shira got up and shot her a worried look; Moon ignored it and continued walking. After a few silent steps between them, Shira put a hand in front of her, stopping Moon from taking another step forward. Moon frowned and looked at her, a little confused.

"You won't tell me who it was, fine. But I've had enough watching you like that; you don't have to endure pain just because I'm upset. Let me carry you." Shira told Moon softly, a pained look in her eyes. Moon looked at her with soft eyes; it's a nice feeling, to know that someone cares for you.

"You don't have to. We're almost there, you don't need to carry me on your back, I'll be too heavy." Moon said, voice barely above a whisper. Shira smiled at her and shook her head. She walked in front of her and helped Moon get on her back.

"Just like when I was five, remember?" Moon said with a laugh. Shira chuckled.

"Yeah I remember that. You got so jealous from Yura riding on Seriou that you wanted to ride on **me**!" Shira said and they both laughed.

"I'm sorry Shira." Moon apologized when Shira set her down on the sofa once they reached the house.

"It's alright. I just don't understand why you wouldn't tell me." Shira said as she searched around in the counters for an ice pack then opened the freeze and took out some ice cubes to fill it with. Then she handed it to Moon and sat beside her. Moon hissed as the cold feeling spread through her body, then she sighed in relief as her leg started going numb.

"It's not that I wouldn't tell you. It's the fact that you would surely get mad at me if I do." Moon stated after a while. Shira looked up at her in surprise.

"Why would I get mad?" She asked her surprised and confused.

"Because I know you would be." Shira kept silent. Then someone knocked at the door, Shira got up and opened it, wondering whom it was.

"Yura? What brings you here?"

"Uh, hey aunt Shira. I…just came to heal Moon." He said nervously with a sheepish smile.

"But how did you…" Shira trailed off and glanced at Moon, Moon caught the look on Shira's face and was a bit startled. Shira moved aside for Yura to enter, a saddened look on her face. Yura went inside, a little confused. He saw Moon with her wound showing and understood it immediately, Shira had finally found out. He slipped his backpack off his shoulders and it landed on the wooden floor with a thud. Then he headed to where Moon was sitting and removed the ice pack. The wound he saw made him grimace slightly.

"It's worse than the one before." He commented in a voice so low so that only Moon could hear him. She only shrugged as a response and watched as Yura healed the wound. He got up when only a tiny scar remained.

"It's not all healed." Shira pointed out.

"Yeah I know. My ability for healing didn't reach dad's level yet. I can heal but it always stops with a scar." Yura said as he got up and looked at the wound.

"I suppose you know who did this?" Shira asked in a tone that somehow sounded…far away?

"Um…I…" Yura stuttered and glanced at Moon. She only shrugged and looked away.

"I do know." Yura confirmed.

"Can you tell me who they are?" Shira asked slowly. Yura gulped and looked at Moon again, but all Moon did was look away while swinging her legs up and down.

"Three boys in their last year. They won't be staying long, I mean, the year is about to end and we won't see them ever again. So…it's all good." He said that last sentence in a way that sounded more of a question than a statement. Shira looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean? Have they always done that? Since when?" Shira asked with some speed, she was starting to get agitated.

"Um, aunt Shira…you really shouldn't worry anymore, it'll be over after a few days, so why are you asking?" Yura tried to persuade her to drop the subject but to no avail.

"This is bigger than what it seems, isn't it? **Since when?**" Shira asked, slightly angered.

"Since I entered that school." Moon answered her softly, legs still swinging and face turned away so that Shira couldn't see Moon's expression.

"What?" Shira said with a surprised voice that was barely above a whisper.

"And…what have they been doing?" She asked, this time reluctantly.

"Punching, kicking, they were the ones who pushed Sarah from that small balcony and they've been playing with knives lately." Moon stated emotionlessly. This time turning her gaze from the room's door to the floor in front of her.

"And you haven't said a word about it all this time?" Shira asked, awestruck. Moon slowly shook her head. Silence filled the room as Moon said nothing and Shira just stared at her shocked. Yura gulped.

"Uh, okay, guess I have to go. Don't want dad wondering why I'm late so…I'll see you later, bye!" He said as he slowly picked up his bag, opened the door and gave a sheepish grin before closing it and heading out.

Moon stood up and went to her room to get dressed. Shira meanwhile prepared the little table for lunch. The two spirits stood by the wall and exchanged worried looks. Lunch soon started, quieter than usual.

"Why haven't you told me about that before? You know I could've beaten the hell out of them. In fact, you could've beaten the hell out of them if you wanted to." Shira said in a confused tone. Moon shrugged.

"If you annoy a bee it will sting you. If you hit a dog, it will bite you. If I show off by beating them they'll probably do things much worse than what they've done so far." Shira had a pained look on her face.

"What?" moon asked as she looked up.

"I'm just thinking….if all I've done was for nothing…then I'm just as useless as I thought I was, no difference at all. I'm only capable of helping myself and no one else." Moon looked at her surprised.

"Don't say anything like that! If it weren't for you then…then I'd be dead long ago. And I'd still be that silly little crybaby. And…I'd still be lonely. Shira if it weren't for you, many things would be totally different from how they are now." Shira gave a little smile at that.

"Why do we train like that Shira? I thought you told me that a shaman's job is to help spirits find peace and move on. So why do we need to fight and do all these stuff?" Moon asked in her usual, childish curiosity. Shira chuckled slightly.

"I asked my father the same question once. Know what he told me?" Moon slowly shook her head. Eyes widen in anticipation. Shira leaned closer.

"It is to prepare you for a special tournament, a Shaman Tournament." Shira said in a very enthusiastic way, Moon was nearly jumping from the force her left leg made when it jumped up and down on the spot.

"What is a shaman tournament?" She finally asked in a very excited way. Shira chuckled.

"It is a tournament that occurs every five hundred years; it's a competition between shamans. All shamans from all over the world gather around in one city, they fight and fight in a series of rounds. The winner will be named the Shaman King and is granted one wish, anything he wants would be granted." Shira explained.

"And…when will the next tournament occur?" Moon asked after a moment.

"A few years from now, that's why I keep you on training." Shira said as she sat back on her chair.

"Then let's go and train now! What are you waiting for?" Moon said enthusiastically as she went towards the door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa girl. Let the food settle in first." Shira said with a laugh. Moon blinked a few times then turned around with a slight chuckle.

"Want me to wash the dishes then?" She asked with a smile.

"Nah, just sit next to me while I read a book."

"Okay." Moon said as she sat on the sofa. Then her face took on a confused expression.

"You have a book?"

"I have a whole library."

"We have a library in this house?" Moon asked surprised.

"Of course we do."

"Where?"

"Over here." She gestured for Moon to follow her, they both entered the living room and Shira started feeling the wall with her hand, searching for something.

"Don't tell me it's another secret door thingy." Kanil said from behind. It seemed that the two spirits had followed them too.

"Found it!" Shira said as she pressed a rather big, circular button that slowly sank inside the wall, then the wall split into two and each half went either up or down, revealing rows of books placed on wooden shelves. A few seconds later, all the shelves were pushed forwards and Shira started looking for a book to read while Moon and Kanil just stood there gaping.

"What?" Shira asked as she turned to face them. No answer.

"Aren't you used to these things by now? Just so you'd know, what you've seen so far from the hidden rooms, that was nothing at all compared to what still lies there, waiting to be discovered." The two gave a nod of understanding.

"But I've never saw you holding a book before." Moon commented as they went out of the room.

"That's because you're normally asleep when I do." Shira said as she sat down on the sofa.

"Why when I'm asleep?" Moon asked as she sat next to her.

"Well, that way I can make sure that I don't get distracted." Shira answered her.

"Oh." Was the only response Moon gave.

"Have you read them all?" She asked after a while.

"Yup, all of them." Shira answered.

"Can I choose one to read?"

"Sure, go ahead." Moon smiled and went to choose one to start with, a big smile on her face. The days slowly passed by.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you liked that. I would've updated sooner, but the fact that I had no internet is well, sort of an obstacle there, hehe. ^-^ If the ending looks a little vauge, then please tell me.

Please Review!


	36. Chapter 36

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 36**

**Too Much To Contain**

_"Where is that oh-so-great master of yours David?" Moon asked frustrated as she walked around in circles. David, sitting on a lonely rock, simply sighed in exasperation._

_"Isn't that a good thing?" He asked annoyed._

_"Not when he leaves me in a very tense and nervous state David!" She answered him while still pacing around._

_"It's been a year David, a year! I've been anticipating the worst things, the most awful things I could imagine as I lie down in bed minutes before I meet you here. I've been restless for a whole year, a whole year." She dragged the last words as long as she could. David sighed again, this time clearly annoyed._

_"Well I'm really sorry. We never put the thought of me forced into a hospital in our minds. But don't worry; I'll make sure to tell those idiot doctors to kill me tomorrow, just to make sure your little tension wears off." He said sarcastically. Moon finally stopped in front of him with her hands on her hips._

_"First, I never asked for you to die. Second, it's not a _little_ tension." David snorted._

_"If you think what you're going through is tough, then you'll have no chance." Moon sighed._

_"It's just too much, and the fact that I can't really tell anybody makes it more…more…"_

_"Complicated?" David finished for her._

_"Yes. It's just that…I can't seem to imagine the look on everybody's face when they see everything unravel right before them."_

_"Just a hint, they won't live long enough to see most of it."_

_"Don't start with that depressing attitude again." Moon pleaded._

_"Fine." He said with a sigh. There was a pause between them, each of them drowning in their own thoughts._

_"I have a feeling it will be soon though."_

_"How soon?"_

_"I don't know, but I don't think my body will hold much longer."_

_"What are you talking about? You look fine."_

_"Because that is how I want to look, but reality is that I look like this." Suddenly his entire body took on a great change. His outline grew smaller, thinner. His face looked drained and there was barely any flesh to be seen. Just skin and bone. He simply looked horrible and his body was clearly frail. Moon covered her mouth and tried to stop a startled gasp._

_"Forgive me…for showing you this." He said with a husky voice while lowering his head._

_"No, forgive me for not…realizing how…bad your condition was." David looked at her and smiled._

_"It's nothing to worry about."_

* * *

"Moon, wake up." Shira called and the normal morning routine started all over again. Things were normal at school, very peaceful after the three boys left. Sarah had told her earlier that a lunar eclipse is going to happen soon and Moon's tension started flowing overboard, it was clear enough for everyone to notice, even those who have nothing to do with her started asking her if everything was alright. One week left for the school's end and for the summer break to start. Things seemed very nice and peaceful, but still had a tense aura when Moon came around. The only one who seemed to understand it though was Yura. He was the only one who wouldn't ask her about anything. She didn't know whether that was called understanding or simply being ignorant but in both cases, she was grateful.

"Why are you so tense?" Shira asked once everybody left. Both Adam and Jerry came for a visit today while the teenagers trained for the tournament.

"Why do you think I'm tense?" Moon asked her as if it wasn't the tenth time Shira had asked that.

"No I know that you **are** tense but right now…you seem to be trembling." Shira pointed out.

"What?" Moon asked in surprise and looked at her hands, they were indeed, trembling.

"Look, do you want to take a walk in the forest?" Shira suggested after a while of deafening silence. Moon looked at her skeptically.

"A walk? In the night? Now that the sun is down and everything's pitch black? When all the carnivores are out searching for their prey?"

"Come on, it's not that bad. Some cool, fresh night air would do you good. It helps you relax."

"I'm not so sure about this Shira."

"It wouldn't hurt would it? It's not like the house would burn down while we're out." Moon's head whipped at her with a look of total terror.

"I was only joking Moon. See how tense you are? Come on, get up and wear your shoes, put on your jacket if you still feel cold and you can even take whatever's dear to you in case the house _does_ fall apart." Shira said with a little smirk.

"Don't play with my nerves like that! I'm tensed up enough as I am, don't make it worse!" Shira gave a small laugh and got up.

"I'm serious, it could happen, you never know. And just in case it does, I'll go and take out Wolfy, my bracelet and oh, that reminds me, take yours as well; you never know if it would come in handy. Take anything else that you don't want to get robbed with you." Shira said as she rummaged around some drawers and went in and out of rooms. Moon stood there stunned for a while then woke up and got the things she wanted and shoved them all into her mini-backpack, the two then set off. Once the door opened up, a very cool breeze passed by them. The fresh air seemed so wonderful; it felt as if you could taste the cent of the grass and trees. Moon breathed in the cool air, relishing the feeling of being refreshed.

"It's been a while since you last took a walk in the woods just for the sake of walking." Shira commented. Moon hummed her reply, a big smile on her face that slowly turned into a happy grin. She closed her eyes for a moment and heard the cricket's musical chirping and the leaves rustling as the wind passes by them. She heard the soft and fast sound of wings flapping, probably a bat as it takes a sharp turn. The distant hoot of an owl, everything seemed so perfect, or was it she who was sucked up into this worriless world? Then she heard a sound familiar to someone snapping his fingers. She opened her eyes and saw Shira doing just that.

"Wake up nature girl, there's lots more to see, hear and smell. So don't waste your time on just one sensation. Let's head west." Shira said pointing behind Moon.

"West? But we've never been to the west side of the forest before." Moon said with a tinge of worry in her voice.

"You mean that **you** haven't been there before. There's a special view that I'd like to show you there, it would look better during the day, but everything has its own charm in its own time. Let's go." Shira stated and that was enough for Moon to follow her with an excited smile. They walked and walked for a long time, Moon eventually forgot about all of her worries and let the different sensations take over her. The beauty of nature was something she had always cherished. She would do anything to protect this forest, the forest in which she grew up.

"Aren't we there yet?" Moon asked after a while.

"Tired already?" Shira asked as she glanced back at her with a smile.

"No, just bored. Or actually…I'm just wondering what that place is." Moon answered nonchalantly.

"Hm, you have the right to know. First I'm going to show you a special place of mine then we'll go and visit your old home." Shira replied. Moon looked at her confused.

"What do you mean _my old home_? What home?" Moon asked in confusion. Shira stopped and stared at her for a while.

"Yeah you probably forgot about it by now. Well, good thing I'm taking you there, right?" She said with a smile then turned and continued to walk. Moon looked at her confused but kept walking behind. They soon reached a clearing; some high rocks were bordering the place, making it look like a very tiny corner. But in reality, it was a huge waterfall that poured into a flowing river that stretched all the way next to the rocky borders, thereby going unnoticed.

"I used to come to this place a lot; it helps me think….even if the sound of the waterfall is too high, it helps me relax. I hope it's doing the same with you." She said looking over at Moon. Moon nodded at her grinning, she liked the place too.

The trees soon became thicker and more crowded as they moved on. It seemed to Moon as if no human being has ever entered this path and yet, there were some traces of a path in which they walked on. It was covered with still growing grass and the trees were only bordering the way, but the branches sure made it too hard to walk. Soon they reached a clearing; it didn't seem very big though that was because of the huge mansion that covered most of it. Moon gaped at the big building.

"There you go." Shira said with a sigh as she stood there and put her hands on her hips.

"So? What do you think?" She asked with a smile as she looked at Moon.

"I…" She started and then trailed off. She had no words to say. Creepy but still amazing? That doesn't sound very… or actually, it sounds very convenient.

"Come on." Shira said when she stood next the opened door. Moon snapped out of her gaze and reluctantly followed. The house was made of wood, very dark, dark wood. The best quality too as it seemed.

"It's been standing here for years and yet no termites ate anything, no dust entered…not even animals like bats live in this place." Shira said fascinated but then her face grew dark in sadness.

"What's wrong?" Moon asked concerned.

"It only shows how scared they were…how…introverted they were….Heh, good thing your mother isn't anywhere near." She finally said with a nervous laugh.

"What makes you say that and…where is mom anyway?" Moon asked.

"Well Moon, this is your family's home. Their house is so deep in the forest, so well hidden. Anyway, I think your mother is wandering around…but she's far. What's your problem with her anyway?" Shira asked amiably. Moon shrugged and walked around, soon she went up the stairs. _The house of my family huh? Very gloomy…it feels exactly like mom…am I…that gloomy too?_ Moon thought to herself as she wandered through the halls.

"Shira…" She called as she felt the red wooden wall.

"Yes?" Shira responded from behind.

"Am I…gloomy?" She asked and slowly turned around to face Shira, a curious and awaiting look on her face.

"You? Gloomy?" She repeated with a laugh. Then she put a finger on her chin and her other hand on her hip, thinking, remembering.

"You do have times in which you get upset or…gloomy. But everyone has those moments, even me! Besides, you only get those after something really worth being gloomy about. So no, you're not gloomy at all." She finally said. Moon smiled at her thankfully.

"Come over this way." Shira said with a chuckle and walked through another narrow hallway, Moon tailing after her. Soon they entered a room that was extremely different from all the others. The walls were still the same gloomy colors, dark brown, black and mahogany. The difference was that it was filled with things that simply didn't relate to the house. A small colorful bed, light blue being its basic color. A big light blue wardrobe, with lots of stickers and flowers glued on it. There was a nightstand with three drawers and a small table with a mirror hung on the wall right over it. There was a part of the wall, very low, which had paint on it. A few big spots here and there and at some point there was a small painting of a smiling flower. The whole thing seemed to point to a child, the lines of the paint were wavy and messy, definitely the work of a child. Shira leaned on the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest with an amused smirk on her face and watched as Moon curiously went into the room. It was dark, but things were still visible. The frown on Moon's face was there all the time, curious as she felt some sort of nostalgia to this place in particular. So far, everything in the house was new to her, as if she'd never seen it in her entire life. But this room, it had something, but Moon couldn't find out what. It was starting to frustrate her; she went to the tiny table only to see her reflection on the mirror. Nothing much was on the table except for more stickers of flowers and a…feather? A small little grey feather fastened with a tape on the table. She carefully removed the tape and went next to the window in order to see it clearer. It was a silverfish grey color…a normal feather…but why did it look so special to her eyes? She carefully looked out of the window; the view of the grass and trees was so dense and clear at the same time. Then she noticed something lying there on the windowsill, a little doll, as it seemed. She carefully picked it up, made of wool, she determined as she traced the fine lines of knotted wool. The colors were very bright and nice. It was only then that she remembered all these things. The feather, was the first and only thing that ever entered the house through her window. It originally came from a nightingale that sat on a branch near her window. Her father made the doll, especially for her. Shira was already standing by Moon's side, watching merrily as the distant smile on Moon's face grew bigger.

"So? Remembered anything yet?" She asked, even though the answer was quite obvious. Moon smiled at her then looked up into the starry sky, the light reflecting on her black eyes. Shira was startled when that happy and peaceful look in her face changed to a look of fear and terror.

"What is it?" Shira asked hesitantly, knowing that she wouldn't like the answer at all.

"_The sky will turn black_…" Moon silently repeated the clue in her mind as the scene unraveled right before her.

* * *

Thunder: Well? How was it?

Please review!


	37. Chapter 37

Thunder: Sorry for being late again. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 37**

**Just a Dream**

**Shira was startled when that happy and peaceful look in Moon's face changed to a look of fear and terror.**

**"What is it?" Shira asked hesitantly, knowing that she wouldn't like the answer at all.**

**"**_**The sky will turn black**_**…" Moon silently repeated the clue in her mind as the scene unraveled right before her eyes.**

"Fire…" Moon answered distantly, too mesmerized by the sight in front of her. Shira quickly pushed her aside and peeked through the glass but then frowned.

"Moon…there's nothing there." She said silently, slowly looking towards Moon.

"What? Can't you see it? Huge flames of fire! Eating up the entire forest! How could you miss it?" Moon asked in astonishment. Shira blinked at her, looked out the window then back to her, a calm but worried look in her eyes.

"Moon, you're hallucinating." Shira stated bluntly. Moon stared at her and then rushed to look out the window.

"But it's right there! How can you just stand there and act so relaxed when our house is burning down in there?" She nearly screamed. Shira shook her head and patted Moon's head with a sigh.

"You're so tired…come on, let's go home, make sure you get a goodnight's rest. Get rid of your building tension." She stated and left the room. Moon stood there dumbfounded. She soon snapped out of it, took what she wanted to take, it was her room after all, took a worried glance at the burning forest and ran after Shira.

"Shira I swear the forest is on fire, I saw it with my own eyes!" Moon shouted once she came out of the front gates.

"Moon, there's no smoke, no flames, and we're standing right between the trees. If there really was a fire, don't you think I would've noticed it by now?" Shira asked but then something quick pushed her.

"Moon?...Moon…what's wrong?" Shira asked. Moon was tightly hugging her, shivering violently.

"Moon, what's wrong?" Shira repeated.

"I don't know…fire scares me…I don't know why but it brings some very bad feeling to me." She replied with a wavering, muffled voice. Shira was surprised for a moment. _She…forgot? But why is she hallucinating all of a sudden?_

"Come on, hold my hand if it makes you feel better." She said kindly. Moon nodded and took it. Then they started walking. _This is too slow, what if the house burns down before we reach it? What if we burn here and no one would ever know?...why can't Shira see?_ Suddenly Moon heard a rustle behind one of the bushes they walked past. She glanced behind her, where the sound came from, only to see a sonic fast shadow. It was circling them, so fast that Moon could only see a black shadow moving through the flames, forcing them to dance to the force's wind. Then everything fell still and silent, so quiet that it made Moon stiffen in her place. She felt a shiver down her spine as black claws clutched her shoulders.

_"Who will die first?"_ The creature asked playfully, nastily. She felt one sharp claw move towards her neck, savagely pushing its way deeper, drawing out small droplets of blood. Moon took one long frightful gasp, fought out of the creature's grip and started running off with a scream, dragging Shira behind her. She ignored Shira's constant shouts asking her to stop, her feet worked on their own as her mind flew through the worst of thoughts, she looked back once and saw a huge black creature with deadly red eyes tailing after them. She ran even faster, thinking why everything happens to have these red eyes, she tried to put everything together but she was in no state to do so. She ran until they reached a place far away from the castle, but much closer to their house. An explosion of flames was their greeting once they arrived. Moon screamed and held onto Shira while the latter avoided a burning piece of wood that was sent flying by the explosion.

"Sh-Shira….Isn't that where our house is?" Moon asked with voice shaken in fear. Shira looked at her horrified; the girl's outline was shivering.

"Come on! It can't be, let's go and see if we can do anything. Hurry!" She ordered and pulled Moon by the hand.

"Th…That **is** our house!" She finally exclaimed and started struggling to come closer to it but Moon kept pulling her back.

"Moon let go!" Shira shouted above the fire's crackle.

"Shira there's nothing you can do! Everything's on fire, we must go!" Moon urged on but all her attempts were in vain.

"We can't leave the fire eat the entire forest! We have to do something!" Shira begged as an excuse. She was right though.

"But what **can** you do? Our spirits can't use water, the only water sources surrounding us are hours away, even if we did reach them, there would be no guarantee that we would be able to carry enough water in time to put the fire out. No, we have no chance, we have to go!" But Shira still refused, she wrenched herself free from Moon's grip, swiftly threw her backpack far away and dashed towards the fire. Moon threw her own backpack and ran after her, shouting her name and begging her to stay away. It was no use, Shira was too deep in her own worries and denial, she denied the fact that there was a fire to begin with. Shira had went inside the burning form of a house, jumping over fire and avoiding shots of it that came from all directions. She searched left and right, she didn't feel the heat, she didn't feel the flames jumping around her, until Moon's fearful scream resounded in her ears, covered by all the fire's crackle and she could still hear it clearly. She quickly ran the way the scream came from. Moon lied there on her back, a thick beam trapping her there in that position. She frantically tried to push it away but her efforts were in vain. The ceiling was crashing down on them and the heat was unbearable. Shira tried to come closer to Moon but then it crashed down in front of her, leaving her cornered by flames. Moon on the other hand was still trapped and it seemed like the end when the ceiling above her fell. All Shira could hear was Moon's desperate cries for help, but she couldn't do a thing! Everything happened so fast, she heard Moon's final scream before the flames grew higher and higher. The crackle and smoke filling everything.

"Moon? Moon can you hear me?" Shira shouted at the top of her voice, no answer. Thoughts raced through her mind. She wished that it was just her imagination, that she would wake up from a bad dream, that a miracle would happen. Just then…

"Shira!" She heard a familiar voice call behind her, something crashed then suddenly someone covered her from the flames. She looked up and whom she saw was Adam.

"Don't worry, Yura is with Moon. He's protecting her but they won't last long, we have to go out." He told her reassuringly and then tried to find a way out.

OOOO

"Moon it's okay, it's okay, you can open your eyes." Yura urged for the fifth time but Moon was still clinging onto his shirt, sobbing, whimpering, shivering and coughing. She had run after Shira reluctantly, she wasn't prepared for what was ahead of her. Once she stepped foot in the house the door crashed behind her and a bar fell and blocked the entrance. She had desperately pulled and pushed the living room door, or what remained of it, hoping to escape from its window but it was no use, she was trapped and Shira simply ignored her. It was every man for himself, something she didn't like at all. Until that beam fell on her. Then Yura came and tried to help her out, but all he achieved was to pull half of her body out of it, giving her the chance to sit up.

"Moon we have to move, get up!" He tried again but it was futile. Yura's oversoul had formed a cage of bone all around them, but bone won't stand long against fire, they had to move.

"Moon come on! Get up!" He tried to pull her out, help her stand but she yelped as he did so, her legs were badly wounded. She started coughing; the smoke filled the tiny space they were in. It filled their lungs and annoyed their eyes. Moon needed air and started gasping for it, but there was no oxygen left. Yura covered her mouth and nose with his hand, thinking of a way out of this. Moon struggled between holding onto him and staying conscious. Yura decided that he should carry Moon out and so he did. With one last pull, he got her out and hurried towards the first opening he saw. Once they were out of the fire and smoke's reach, he searched around for his father, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Dad?" He shouted with a cough. He couldn't see his father anywhere; he couldn't be still inside, could he?

"Dad? Aunt Shira?" He stood up and considered going back in the deteriorating house, he was about to do so until something grabbed him from his ankle. He looked down and saw Moon struggling for air and trying to get up. He instantly forgot about everything and kneeled down next to her; she breathed too much smoke and is still coughing it all out.

"Where's…Shira?" She asked after gaining some air.

"She's okay, don't you worry." He lied but he didn't know what else to say. He looked up behind him, there was barely anything left of the house to be seen, only flames as high as the trees. Yura tried to look deeper, but the light of the flames and the heat made it nearly impossible. He heard something crash down and it alerted him, where could they be?

OOOO

"What in the Great Spirit's name do you think you're doing?" Adam shouted angrily, avoiding a gush of flames. Shira was wrenching her wrists out of his grip.

"Let me go!" She yelled back at him and finally slipped her wrists out, then ran off somewhere.

"Where are you going? What do you think you can do? It's dangerous, get back!" He asked as he found his way after her.

"I…I must do something." She yelled over the fire and went deeper.

"Some water should do!"

"**Some **water? Shira are you out of your mind? Look around you, you'll need a full tanker to put this all out and it's spreading. Get out of there! Don't you want to see Moon?" He asked trying to get her attention elsewhere as he pulling her away from an enormous flame.

"Yura is with her, she's safe. I can do whatever I want without worrying about her." The answer simply astonished the doctor.

"What are you saying? That she's just some kind of responsibility of yours?"

"Of course not!" She said whipping her head towards him. It seemed to work.

"Then why are you doing this? Why not save her from losing someone else?"

"I…This…I can't, I can't leave this place." She stammered.

"It's all I have left from my father, I can't possibly leave!" She added after a moment.

"The man is dead! Moon is alive! Who is more important to you?"

"I'm not going no matter what you say!" She shouted angrily and then screamed as everything around them started falling apart. Adam protected her, he tried to lead her away and out of this place but she refused.

"Don't be so stubborn!"

"I'm not!"

"Think of Moon, think of what would happen to her without you." Adam tried one more time.

"She'd be fine, I taught her well." She snapped at him and that's when Adam gave her one hard slap that pushed her into a daze. She tried to move away again but he gripped her wrists once more.

"Let me go!" She screamed with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Wake up! This isn't a dream, this is real life! If you die here you're not coming back at all!"

"So what?" She screamed furiously.

"So Moon had lost both her parents in one night and you want her to relive everything all over again? You are a mother to her, you're her older sister! Losing you might send her into all kinds of depression, she could become suicidal. So save up all of that and get yourself out! Wake up! It isn't just about Moon, it's about you too." Shira didn't listen, she tried to free herself as the tears slid down her cheek. A startled scream escaped her lips when a huge claw simply threw away the remains of the house that were over them. Adam kept her as close as possible, protecting her. A giant horse ridden by a giant gladiator loomed over them with what seemed to be a monster with long claws and a long pointy tail next to him. He started stabbing the ground around them with his thick spear, barely missing them. They faced a huge difficulty dodging his attacks though.

OOOO

"What in the world is that?" Yura exclaimed as he saw the giants in front of him. Moon gaped at the site.

"Moon watch out! Run away, I'll do something!"

"No!" She shouted in a firm voice, so firm that it made Yura stand there frozen. She knew who the gladiator was, at least she thought so. _Use me…_A far away voice whispered to her. _I can save…or kill _The voice was clearer, but still a whisper. _I don't want anyone to be killed! _Moon thought while shaking her head. _You can use me…I can save the forest…do you want it to die? The place you once called home will soon turn to ash. I have power far beyond your comprehension, set me free. I can help you, use me_. The voice coaxed, Moon bit her lips _What should I do? _She asked. _Let my power flow within you, I can save and I can kill, it all lies in your hands. If you are worthy, then you will succeed. If you are not…then you are the one to blame and I am simply your loyal slave, I do what your inner self wants. But who will be powerful enough? Your mind or your heart? Is your inside dead or alive? That answer you must find. _Moon gritted her teeth, she had no other option. It's a risk, but it's also worth a try. She stood up, ignoring the pain that shot through her legs. She walked forwards a few steps, Yura watching her with eyes filled with uncertainty. She stretched her hands in front of her, she felt the dark power boil inside her, asking her permission to be let out and roam free. She was the one who would hold the leash; she has to be prepared for the worst. _Now what? _She asked. _Call me, bring it forth. Summon my powers; allow them to return to me. Then we will see which of us has the upper hand. _The voice answered with an evil tone in it. Moon reluctantly allowed the black tendrils of foryoku to flow out, they entwined, twisting and turning around her arms until they reached her palms. Moon was panting by then, the energy was immense and it was leaving her all at one, giving her no time to adjust. The black energy materialized into black vines with thorns sticking out of them, prickling her skin. At last, a big sphere of black energy formed between her palms, slowly materializing into a dark black rose, when the power started becoming unstable, Moon released it, aiming it towards the giant. The beam of black light hit its target, the giant's eyes lighted up with red color and evil intentions. That's when the hard part began, where Moon had to control everything in time. She steered the horse at will away from Shira and Adam. She ordered the monster to put out the spreading fire, he obeyed and a huge gush of water came out of his mouth in the shape of a big fountain, spraying the entire forest as if rain was falling down from the skies. Surprisingly enough, the water vanished as soon as every flame died, the monster then vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Moon was exhausted by then, she fell down on her knees panting hard and gasping. Yura quickly knelt next to her, but she could barely hear a thing he said, he kept shouting and looking at her expectantly, he finally pointed in front of her. She turned around but her vision was blurry, she could barely see her hands in front of her, after concentrating for too long she realized that the gladiator has unsheathed his unique black sword and was about to slash it down. Moon got up and ran as fast as she could, her body was numb, she felt absolutely nothing, she was moving through will power only. She threw herself on top of Shira protectively, she heard distant shouts and screams then her consciousness slowly faded.

Moon's eyes opened somewhere else, in someone else's body, but she had no control over it, she could only watch. It seemed like she hasn't missed much, Yura was just about to strike…her?

"Bare your fangs and eat your prey. I summon you here to beat this monster, leave nothing more than bone splinter. I summon you, Black whisper!" She heard Yura call and suddenly a huge black feline jumped out and attacked her current body, it was then that she realized that she was trapped inside the gladiator. A huge black lion roared as it buried its claws deep inside the horse she was on, making it jump up and drop the gladiator off, disappearing in another cloud of black smoke.

"Yura we must get the two out of here!" Adam shouted

"I know, I know!" Yura replied. Moon watched as Adam knelt next to Shira who held Moon's numb, unconscious body. The look on her face showing pure shock and fear. Moon frowned at the site, her body was covered with blood, but she didn't remember being hit at all. The gladiator's body, her current body, didn't move an inch; he/she just lied there on the ground motionless.

"Whisper would you please get on with it already?" Yura said angrily.

"Mmmm….let me enjoy my meal for once, you never let me eat properly." Replied the red-eyed lion in a lazy, uninterested tone.

"Well eat him up faster!"

"Oh shut up, he's not even physical for me to enjoy. Would you kindly give me that blood-coated girl? I've had an eye out for her for quite a long time now." The lion said as he hopped down the gladiator's, now transparent, body.

"Not in a million years! As a punishment you'll carry her home."

"Oh dear me, how horrible I feel. You make it sound as if you're going to torture me by having her on my back and still can't have a lick. Well…that plan of yours just might work." Whisper said with an evil grin, showing off his big white fans with his red eyes gleaming.

"On second thoughts, I don't trust you with such things." Yura said while crossing his arms over his chest and turning around.

"Oh young master… you've hurt my honorable spirit. Have you no faith in your loyal friend and helper." Whisper said in an innocent tone, with one paw on it's chest, showing that it's hurt.

"You're nothing but a killing machine, alright? Would you mind disappearing now?" Yura said with an impatient growl but Whisper didn't seem so keen on going back at all.

"I'd rather go hunting in the forest for something to play with between my claws."

"Suit yourself." Yura said dismissively.

"Won't you feel dizzy without me?" The lion teased.

"Oh I think I can manage." Yura said as he walked towards Moon's body. Moon felt herself moving away again, as if she was a spirit but at the same time, she wasn't. She felt herself back into her body then felt Yura's arms slide beneath her and lifting her up. Slowly she faded into complete darkness.

* * *

Moon woke up to the sound of humming, she felt arms hugging her, she felt her body resting against someone else's, someone rocking from left to right while humming a lullaby. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up. The room was bathed in sunshine.

"Hey." Shira whispered with a soft smile and continued rocking left to right. Moon smiled back, albeit tiredly.

"Was it just a bad dream?" Moon asked confused after a while. Shira tilted her head and smiled a confused smile.

"What was?" She asked. Moon blinked at her tiredly, confusion barely visible on her tired face. Shira laughed.

"Look at yourself; you can barely open your eyes. Go back to sleep." She told her and continued humming. Moon chuckled to herself and rested her head on Shira's chest.

"Just a bad dream." She murmured as she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

* * *

Thunder: Hmm…didn't quite come out as I wanted it too, I hope you all liked it though.

Please review!


	38. Chapter 38

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 38**

**Tell Me It's A Lie**

**Moon woke up to the sound of humming, she felt arms hugging her, she felt her body resting against someone else's, someone rocking from left to right while humming a lullaby. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up; it was Shira, smiling down at her. The room was bathed in sunshine.**

**"Just a bad dream." She murmured as she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.**

Moon woke up, remembered waking up a few times earlier, each time feeling a certain amount of pain. She would always hear a distant ruckus. Sometimes she felt someone next to her, either holding her hand, gently caressing her cheek or stroking her hair. But in each time, she would have no strength to do anything. This time though, she mustered up some strength to actually open her eyes. She frowned; the ceiling looked different from before. She looked left and right, realization dawned upon her a few moments later. She wasn't in her room, in fact, she wasn't even in her own house. Pictures of what she thought was a nightmare played through her mind, that's when she realized that it wasn't a nightmare at all. The soft yellow curtains prevented the light from entering, she tried to get up but an unbearable pain flowed through her body, a soft moan escaped her lips. She tried to turn around but it was no use. Her back ached, how long has she been asleep in this position? She sighed and closed her eyes, and then suddenly she heard the room's door being opened.

"Are you awake yet, Moon?" She heard Shira say with a sigh.

"SHIRA!" Moon tried to shout with excitement, but her mouth was so dry, it came out as a croak. But that didn't seem to bother her at all; the big happy grin was still on her face. She tried to sit up but only managed to lean on her elbows. Shira quickly knelt beside the bed with a smile plastered on her face.

"You finally woke up!" She exclaimed and then hugged her tightly. Moon giggled at the feeling, she ignored the pain, she was too happy.

"You must be thirsty and hungry too. I'll go and get you something to…" She said and attempted to stand up but was stopped my Moon holding onto her arm.

"How long have I been asleep?" Moon asked confused a little. Shira smiled at her kindly.

"Three days." She told her. Moon stared at her for a few moments until the information was registered in her mind.

"And…where am I? I mean…where are we?" She asked.

"We're in Adam and Yura's house."

"What about our house?" Shira knelt down beside her again.

"It burned down baby, remember?" Moon frowned at this.

"What do you mean by _burned down_?" She asked slowly, uncertain to what the answer would be. The events were still fuzzy in her mind, a fast blur of pictures that made no sense. Shira held her close in a hug, gently rubbing her back.

"Nothing's left of it Moon, nothing but the remaining ashes. The place crashed down when that big monster came out."

"But how did it burn down?" Moon asked after a while.

"I don't know and right now, I don't really care. All that matters to me is that you're okay." Shira told her softly, stood up and went out the room. Moon didn't know what she was feeling right now, too many emotions clashing inside her at the same time that it left her emotionless. She finally sat up, seeing the many bandages tied around her torso. Something felt wrong, amiss. Even if she was in Yura's house, something felt so wrong. But it was just a feeling, so she simply ignored it. Shira soon came with a tray with food and water, Moon thanked her with a cheerful smile and dug in, realizing how hungry she was. Shira sat beside her all the time, just watching and talking from time to time.

The days passed as well, Moon's injuries only seemed deep, but they were merely scratches and scrapes. The only reason for her exhaustion was the amount of power she had used up that night. Then life turned back to normal, Moon training with both Yura and Sarah, Adam and Shira constantly arguing and then everyone goes and minds his own business. Moon still wondered why David hadn't talked to her ever since, but she figured that it was because of everything going exactly as planned. Part of the riddle had been solved, but there were three more parts to figure out.

_A Friend will die, your thoughts will collide. _But who would that friend be? And what does it mean with _thoughts will collide? _The second part was _The giant living underneath, he will soon be freed, the wrath will be unleashed. _She wasn't really sure if that part has already been fulfilled or not. The giant is clearly the monster that had appeared the other night. It was big but…somehow; something inside her told her that this was only a portion of him, a tiny piece of his big puzzle. Of course! If you put it that way, she had channeled the dark powers and sent it towards him, the gladiator, therefore making him stronger, probably bigger. Es, that wasn't his real size. Then there was the third part, _The black rose will arise, the dead thorns will sting, will you be the queen?_ Well, it was understandable, more or less. The rose and thorns that had appeared then, it went along with it. But there had to be something more behind it. Then there was that repeated question,_ On the inside, are you dead or alive? _Fortunately, that was the one thing she had completely figured out, she had to stay alive _inside_. This meant that she has to keep her spirit alive, not her body. She has to somehow withstand what's ahead and not fall into depression or whatever negative emotions there are.

"What are you so deep in thought with?" Sarah asked playfully. Moon smiled at her, she had completely forgotten that she was still at school.

"Nothing important." She replied, sounding cheerful. Sarah sat down beside her on the steps in a lazy manner.

"Come on, you're fifteen for god's sake, this is _the_ time to have fun! Go to parties, listen to music, and play around, just simply doing stuff that you enjoy. Why can't you do any of that?" Sarah asked. Moon shrugged.

"I guess I don't have time for them."

"You're too serious and down to earth sometimes, you know?" Sarah replied tonelessly. Moon laughed slightly.

"I think you forgot one thing though."

"Really? What?" Sarah asked looking at her.

"I hang out with my friends and do many things that normal teenagers can't do." She told her with a grin on her face.

"You got that right." Sarah said with a laugh. Then Moon laughed as well.

OOOO

Back at Yura's house,

"I want that pen!" Moon shouted as she ran across the hall.

"Come and get it then!" Yura teased and stuck out his tongue. Then he dashed away. Moon gritted her teeth and ran after him.

Adam and Shira were sitting peacefully on the living room's couch. Shira idly flipping through channels and Adam reading the newspaper. All of a sudden, a white figure crossed by followed by another blue figure. The speed in which they were running with startled both of the grown ups. They both looked around and finally found Yura holding up a pen as high as he could while Moon had him pinned on the wall and was standing on her toes with an arm outstretched, trying to grab the pen away. Then a loud thud was heard in that far corner of the room, a few shouts and wails, and then Moon stood up with a victorious, smug look on her face along with a satisfied smirk and a pen held in her hand as she headed towards the door.

"What in the world was that about?" Adam asked with curiosity when Moon was right in front of them.

"I was writing my essay when Yura snuck behind me and snatched my pen away. I don't write any essay except with this pen, it's my lucky pen." She explained. Adam blinked at her then turned to look at Yura.

"And you did this because?"

"Ugh, ow. Because she's been no fun the last couple of days, I thought this would cheer her up." Yura answered as he sat up, nursing his now sore cheek. "I guess it did the trick."

"By the cost of being beaten up by a girl." Moon told him teasingly and stuck out her tongue. Then she lightly skipped her way back up to her room. Yura sighed exasperatedly.

"I can't believe I lost to a girl!"

"Huh, that's what you get when you mess with Moon, and she is not any normal girl." Shira said while shaking her head with a smirk.

"Yura if you let yourself be beaten that badly then I suggest that you train a bit more."

"Heh, look who's talking! You're the one who always drags him into those stupid healing lessons of yours." Shira said with a crazily amused grin on her face.

"They're not stupid." Adam snapped at her.

"Oh yes they are. Compare your son to Moon, Moon refused the healing lessons but did great progress in combat while your son is the complete opposite."

"Um, I'm still here." Yura reminded them as he waved his hand.

"She is the one with no talent, proves how you've taught her. Healing requires lots of concentration and an ability to control the amount of power you're letting out."

"What are you trying to say? That I've taught her wrong?"

"Precisely." Adam replied with a nod and a smile.

"WHAT?" Shira yelled in his face. Yura sighed, here they go again, ignoring everyone and fighting over things. He slowly walked out of the room and unconsciously headed towards Moon's room, lost in deep thought. The part where you control the exact amount of foryoku needed, Moon needed that more than anything now, but he was probably the only one who knew that. It was then that he knocked at her door and went in.

"Hey." He said in a low voice. Moon turned around and smiled at him.

"How's that swollen cheek?" She asked with an impish grin, but her eyes held a twinge of regret. He smiled at her.

"Still swelling." He answered with a chuckle.

"Sorry." She whispered.

"It's okay." He assured her and walked further in.

"You know what you need?" He asked with a start.

"No, what?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Stability." He answered in a serious tone.

"What?" She asked curiously.

"You need to learn how to keep your powers stable; you must be the one in charge, not the other way around. You need to let out an amount of power that is just enough to feed what you're doing. Do you understand me Moon?" He asked seriously, but still kept his careless attitude. Moon blinked at him, it somehow made sense and she had already thought of the problem, but couldn't find a solution to it. Somehow, Yura seemed to know everything, he would always know what to do and when to do it, even though she hasn't spoken a word about it. That part of him made her wonder whether she really knew him, but she never let the questions lurking in her mind to go out.

"So what am I to do?" She asked seriously after a moment, her tone completely changing. He smiled at her.

"I'll handle that. But not right away, just give me some time and I'll be sure to teach you." He replied to her question with an easy smile on his face. Moon looked at him skeptically for a moment.

"You can trust me." He added. Moon blushed slightly, smiled at him a thankful smile and shook her head inwardly. Of course she trusted Yura!

OOOO

Nighttime, Shira just entered the room she shared with Moon. Moon was sitting on her bed hugging her knees and staring into space.

"Hey!" Shira said with a grin as she roughly rubbed Moon's arm, making her giggle. She sat right behind her, arms hugging Moon fondly.

"What is my dear Moon thinking about?" She asked softly.

"Many things." Moon answered after a moment.

"Like what things?" She asked as she rested her chin on Moon's shoulder.

"Like that time…when I accidentally called you mother." Moon slowly stated.

"Ah, that?" Shira asked with a faint smile, remembering the incident.

"It wasn't entirely an accident, I mean, I see you as a mother sometimes…but I look at you as a sister more than a mother." Moon explained as she curled up against Shira.

"That's understandable, though you wouldn't talk to me till two days passed." Shira added. Moon smiled weakly and yawned.

"You seem tired." Shira remarked with a chuckle. Moon nodded her head and closed her eyes, resting her head on Shira's shoulder. Shira only smiled and held her close.

OOOO

"So you want me to teach you the basics of teaching it?" Adam asked his son, still not convinced.

"Yeah dad, that way I can teach it to her." Yura repeated for the fourth time.

"But if _I_ couldn't let the idea sink in, why do you think _you _can?" His father retorted. Yura sighed and crossed his arms over his chest with a sigh.

"Everyone has their own way of teaching, and their own way of learning too. Your way of teaching is way too hard, since I caught up on the idea, I can simplify it to her and thus, teach her." Yura explained.

After a few more minutes, Adam finally agreed to Yura's suggestion and started teaching him.

Next morning,

"Alright! We'll start today; Yura Arisawa's special training program has officially begun! Get ready for some hard training, alright?" Yura announced excitedly.

"YOU GOT IT!" Moon and Sarah cheered happily in unison.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you all liked it, I know it's not much…I didn't even end it as I've planned but…on the other hand, I really hate it when I write too much, I didn't quite re-check the whole thing so if you find anything wrong tell me. Just let me know what you think!

Please review!


	39. Chapter 39

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 39**

**Shadow and Light**

**Next morning,**

**"Alright! We'll start today; Yura Arisawa's special training program has officially begun! Get ready for some hard training, alright?" Yura announced excitedly.**

**"YOU GOT IT!" Moon and Sarah cheered happily in unison.**

After training hard all morning, everyone naturally took a break. Meanwhile, Adam sent Yura to go and gather some herbs for him.

"Why are you following me?" Yura asked annoyed.

"I'm not following you, I'm walking with you." Whisper replied to his question with a cool voice.

"You don't usually come out in the middle of daylight. What's your cause?" Yura rephrased the question.

"Still so suspicious of me, master? I only came to talk." Whisper replied innocently.

"Hardly." Yura groaned and attempted to walk faster. But Whisper kept the same distance from him, just a few steps.

"Why are you helping that girl?" He asked after a while.

"What kind of a question is that? She's my friend." Yura answered as if it was quite obvious.

"And what of it?" He asked confused.

"That's what friends do."

"They do? How sweet. Fine. Why are you helping her control her powers?" He asked, slightly clarifying his main question.

"I went through what she's going through right now, it's only fair that I help her out as much as I can."

"But it won't be of any use if _he _doesn't cooperate." Whisper pointed out.

"He'll have to, you said that before." Yura said, now looking at Whisper instead of ignoring him. A mixture of confusion and interest on his face.

"Yes I did, what I didn't mention to you was that Ronkako is the most egoistic one of our nice trio."

"What do you mean with egoistic?"

"He has too much pride…therefore he won't cooperate so easily."

"That wouldn't be a problem. Moon can bend him down."

"I highly doubt it. See, if I know my dear colleague then I should tell you that he's neither the soft type nor the sympathetic type. All he cares about is feeding his greed."

"You seem to do just the same thing, don't you think?" Yura retorted coldly.

"At least I am reasonable. I don't go off and kill thousands of people just to amuse myself." Yura blinked.

"He does that kind of thing?" Yura asked in surprise.

"I haven't met him since five thousand years ago. But knowing him once was quite enough to tell me that he's the type that never changes."

"Why do you guys love to kill so much?" Yura asked in disgust.

"I never said that we _love _it, we are forced to do it."

"Why? Who forces you?"

"It is the nature of our being. You must sacrifice something in order to receive power in return."

"But I never wanted power."

"And I never wanted to be bound to someone." "But I live with it, I can't change what is unchangeable. I live with you and you live with me, we need to find harmony to achieve that." He added after a moment.

"You said there were two kinds of you guys?" Yura asked absently as he bent down to pick some herbs.

"Yes, the shadow creatures and the light creatures. The shadow creatures have been driven into extinction because of the constant wars between us, but even the light creatures have their own disagreements between each other, thus they fight as well. So don't think that because they are called _light_ means that they are better than us _shadow_." Whisper replied in a somewhat proud way.

"…you also said that there are three of you. If I have you, and Moon has that big guy…who will be the third?"

"What do you take me for, an oracle? I cannot predict the future, I can just sense a few things." Whisper said offendedly.

"Okay, who is the third creature?"

"That would be Kyoi, the black phoenix."

Soon they reached the forest's center, many herbs grew there so Yura made himself comfortable and started gathering them while Whisper sat under a tree's shadow, watching him.

"How did you all come to exist?" Yura asked after a while.

"Ah, a fine question young master. We were first born from the humans themselves ten thousand centuries ago. Our numbers grew and grew for centuries later until we exceeded the human race. But the humans of course, weren't very happy about it. We reached a time where magic was very powerful, witches, wizards, spell casters, sorcerers and sorceresses. We were outmatched in power, the humans soon wiped our race out. Leaving just a few of us that would be of use to them. They cast a spell on the remaining group and made it so that we could not live unless we are attached to a source. Can you believe this? Can you imagine how indignant something like that can be? The great creatures that once ruled over humans, now standing as pets in their evil little hands."

"That doesn't really answer how you came to be." Yura interjected in an uninterested tone. Whisper regained his composure, cleared his throat and went on.

"The humans' minds were foul and poisoned, they believed everything. They would create anything and think of it as something high and divine."

"But there really is a thing such as mythological creatures. I mean, they do exist, don't they?" Yura asked, a bit puzzled.

"Exactly, people believed in those mythologies for so long that they gave their powers to it, thus realizing them."

"I'm not sure that I understand."

"I am a being born from the human's darkest thoughts. That human's thoughts were so dark, so powerful that it created me. But I am not necessarily as dark and evil as the thoughts that I'm made up of, and here's proof for it." He lifted up his paw. "See my claws? They're made of gold, which meant that my creator's heart wasn't all evil, there was good in him."

"You keep drifting off and defending yourself… So, you're basically like the imaginary friends that little kids make up when they're alone." Yura simplified.

"You could say that." Whisper said with a nod. Then Yura paused a moment and sat thinking, the wind playing with his hair.

"You know…you're not that bad…if I give you a chance." He said looking towards Whisper with a shy smile.

"I am glad to see that you are at least trying to understand me master." The creature said with a respectful bow.

"What makes you different from the light creatures?"

"Like I said, we are born from humans' evil thoughts while they are born from the pure, happy and bright thoughts. You can also say that that is a reason to why shadow creatures are mostly black while light creatures are more colorful and bright. Our creators are not very much related, but we, the creatures, are almost the same. What's different is that shadow creatures need a sacrifice in order to gain their power, while light creatures require a high emotional trigger. However, their power is accessible even without the trigger, but in order to summon the creature, it requires a lot of concentration."

"Why does the bearer…have to die?" Yura asked hesitantly. Whisper thought for a moment.

"The bearer dies only if he is separated for a long time from his creature."

"But why?"

"Because…when the stars choose a vessel, they will choose a corresponding beast that fits his or her personality. Once these two are destined to be bound to each other, the bind will concentrate around the bearer's heart. If the bond breaks then so will all other things around it. Do you understand what I mean, master? Let me put it this way, there is a heart to everything. Your heart, which is entirely yours, lies inside your body as long as you stay alive. Even in death, it is still there. But when someone simply barges in and asks you to share…it would be difficult." Yura nodded in agreement at that. Whisper nodded in understanding.

"After sharing it for a while, the two hearts will start to overlap, they will start to mesh, entwine with each other until it is impossible for them to separate. They will both beat as one, and you cannot divide one into two just like that. It requires an infinite amount of power, a power that is even higher than that of the person responsible for the spell. Moreover, you must cut the correct wires, if you know what I mean. If one tiny step went wrong, both beings are doomed."

"And…who is that caster?" Yura asked slowly.

"No one knows, and no one would ever know. Why do you think we say that the stars are the ones responsible? Because they are things that we can never know or touch. We can study them, but they always have that mystical feeling to them, the feeling that tells you that this thing is unknown to you."

"I should be going back now, I think I gathered enough of these, don't you think?"

"You know better, young master."

"Yeah, I should go and resume the training with Moon. Let's go."

* * *

Thunder: Um…okay, I have no idea why I wrote all that in the first place…I'm not even sure if it goes along with the story so far…but I hope it's interesting to you guys…though I think I know some people who would be bored by now. Anyway…It is boring

Please Review!


	40. Chapter 40

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 40**

**Start**

"Open up your hands and hold them out." Shira ordered and the three teenagers complied. Shira then walked towards them and put one blindfold in each one's hands. They all looked at their blindfolds with a baffled expression. In Sarah's case, she touched it and felt it all the way through, a puzzled expression on her face.

"You'll need those for this special training." Shira announced after a moment.

"Blindfolds? How are they going to help?" Yura asked disbelievingly.

"So that's what this is. But Shira, they won't do me any difference whether I put them on or not." Sarah stated, holding the blindfold up in front of her.

"No, you'll need it too. As a Shaman, you can see spirits and auras. Therefore, you're not blind at all. So put it on without arguing. I won't have anything like last week happening again, got it?" She asked in a firm tone, looking intently at Moon who quickly put her own blindfold on. Last week was a complete surprise attack in which, and if not for Yura and Sarah's intervention, Moon would have been dead by now.

"Now, what you do is focus on your senses. I'll start attacking you, soundlessly, and you would have to _feel _where I am and successfully block or dodge my attacks. I'll go easy on you at first, but when I see progress, I'll go harder. I won't mind injuring you either, we have a healer." The last sentence made the three gulp.

A few moments later and the three were knocked off their feet in one swoop. Shira sighed.

"You need a lot more training than I thought." She said shaking her head.

* * *

"So what do we do with that, Nick?" Joe asked with a mixture of seriousness and curiously, pointing at the gun rolling between Nick's hands.

"I don't know. But it's going to be fun." Nick chuckled darkly with a quite nasty evil grin plastered on his face.

* * *

BAM!

The sound of a gunshot filled the entire space around Moon. She was at school, she was alone at the classroom, and she had left Sarah alone outside. A very bad feeling started washing through Moon. She ran as quickly as she could towards the school's exit. Jumped all the way down the stairs and ran straight towards that cursed corner.

The site was breathtaking. It was unreal, it had to be. Blood was spilt everywhere, Nick, Joe and Jack were standing there, clearly having fun. But beyond them, she saw a limp body on the ground with bright blond hair spread across the blood stained ground. Moon gasped as she realized that it was indeed Sarah. She ran towards her, pushing away the stupid thugs and running right to her side.

There was a hole in her head, slowly oozing blood. Her eyes were opened and dull, with no life in them. Moon stared at her horrified. Tears ran down her cheeks without her even noticing. She felt something prickle against her right arm, once again, something took over her self-control and her hand hovered over Sarah's wound. She felt the prickling sensation growing stronger and extending from the middle of her forearm to the tips of her fingers. A dark light radiated from it and all the blood started flowing back into the wound.

Moon stared disbelievingly at her work, the wound finally closed up and Sarah slowly blinked her eyes. Moon's hand was shaking by now, happy tears flowing down instead of sad ones as she hugged Sarah.

"Witch!" Came the cry of a shaking voice. Moon looked up with a jolt at the source of the voice, making the three boys jump back three steps. She felt her expression was just like theirs, scared, surprised and speechless.

"D-Demon!" Cried the other one as he pointed a shaking finger at her.

"K-Kill her, Nick! What are you waiting for?" The two yelled simultaneously. Nick gripped the gun in his sweaty, shaking hands and pointed it at Moon. Knowing nothing but fear in a situation like this, she simply gripped Sarah's shoulders and held her protectively. _BAM!_

She tensed up, ready to embrace the pain but it never came. She carefully opened one of her eyes and dared to take a peek. The boy's expressions were a mixture of ultimate fear and shock. She slowly lifted her head and noticed a grayish-black transparent arch in front of her. Looking around more carefully, she realized that it was actually a sphere, enclosing both her and Sarah in a protective barrier.

"What did you do?" Squeaked the boy named Jack in a trembling voice. She would have gladly answered him, but she didn't know what the answer was! Suddenly she felt a surge of pain coming from her chest. It was so painful and spontaneous that she gasped and clutched her chest.

"Yue Se?" Sarah asked, finally coming back to her senses.

"Yue Se? Yue Se!" She called urgently, shaking the girl's shoulders but didn't get any response. Moon was gasping and sweating, Sarah could feel it but didn't know what to do and the boys were frozen sold in fear. A Surge of energy and pain were igniting from Moon's chest, the pain was too sudden and the power too strong. She's had these sudden surges of pain a few times before, but this time was the strongest of them all. Suddenly she noticed Sarah's eyes narrow, taking on a serious look. Moon was intrigued to see this expression on her friend's face, especially when she had just woken up from death.

"Kill them." _"Kill Them." _The two words rung in her mind awkwardly, making Moon doubt whether she heard it from Sarah's mouth or from her own head. Was she that exhausted? No, the words were spoken simultaneously. _Kill Them!_ The voice in her head repeated furiously. _Ronkako? Is that you? What do you mean kill them? I can't! _She thought to Ronkako whom she knew was in her head. _Kill Them! They deserve it! _Moon gasped in shock. This time it wasn't Ronkako's voice, it was…Sarah's! But how…?

_Moon Kill them already! I had enough; they've hurt us for too long. Now's your chance, kill them! _Moon heard Sarah's thoughts in her head again. _Sarah? _She mentally called out in a hesitated tone. _What are you sounding so unsure for? They deserve it, Moon. _Sarah's thoughts snapped at hers. Okay, so she was having a mental conversation with her friend, who had just miraculously came back to life. It's okay, it's fine, it's totally abnormal, which is a perfect way to describe her life. _She is right. _Came the voice of Ronkako. She could easily imagine the satisfied smirk on his face. Before she could even think of a proper reply to the two's seemingly uncontrolled anger, she felt the power and pain stretching through her body, even entering her bones' marrow.

* * *

"I hope Moon won't be upset." Shira sighed as she walked out of the woods.

"I don't think she would. I think she'd be quite happy actually. I would feel like I'm treated like a five year old if my own parents came to take me from school." Adam replied in a casual tone and Shira pouted at him.

"I'm more worried." Yura commented absently.

"Why's that?" Shira asked anxiously. Yura had always been the one to sense the dangers that lurked around Moon. And lately there had been a lot of them.

"Well, we're already late to begin with. Moon and Sarah would usually be on their way home by now. But we haven't seen any sign of them yet." Yura explained his eyes distant and worried.

"We just came out of the woods." Adam pointed out.

"I know but I can't shake off the feeling that something's happened." Yura said with a troubled look on his face.

"Why can't you ever satisfy me by saying _something is __**going **__to happen_?" Shira asked sarcastically.

"Let's walk faster." He advised and the two adults followed him with a shrug. They were only a few paces away from the school gate when they heard a sudden scream of agony and pain. The sense of panic eventually erupted in them and they ran towards its source. What they saw was too incomprehensible.

* * *

Thunder: Wow! Not as long as I had expected it to be! Now that was a long time since I last updated. Well, I don't know if anyone even reads this but we're getting close to the end, in a few more chapters if I do it correctly. So…

Please review!


	41. Chapter 41

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 41**

**"Let's walk faster." Yura advised and Adam and Shira followed him with a shrug. They were only a few paces away from the school gate when they heard a sudden scream of agony and pain. The sense of panic eventually erupted in them and they ran towards its source. What they saw was too incomprehensible.**

A big black skeleton, only half way out of the ground was clutching Moon in its left hand and flinging the three boys from one direction to the other. From the corner of his eye, Yura could make out Sarah cowering in the corner furthest from the monster. Yura quickly formed his oversoul and charged at the big skeleton. When he was in a distance clear from his thrashing, long arm, he suck his oversoul to the ground and willed his bone pillars to grab hold of him and stopping his movements. The effect was minimal but it still helped. One strike from his father's oversoul aimed at the skeleton's left forearm made it release Moon and simply fade away in an ear-piercing screech. Yura moved just in time to catch Moon in his arms.

"So, you are the three little runts who have been giving Moon a hard time. Is that right?" Shira's voice was filled with contained anger. It was indeed a question, and she was waiting for an answer. One of the boys nodded is head while still shivering.

"Good, now I'm going to give you a hard time worth twice as much as the trouble you've caused her." She said firmly and drew out her oversoul.

After a hard beating they boys limped rather than ran out of the school. Shira sighed in relief and Kanil appeared by her side, sharing the same relieved look on her face.

"You shouldn't have done that." Shira said reproachfully looking at Kanil.

"I'm a mother, I can't help it." Was the ghost's simple reply. Shira scowled at her.

"I gave you one tiny moment to let out some of the anger I sensed was burning within you. I didn't expect you to hurt them that bad, it wasn't my intention."

"But they deserved it, didn't they?" Kanil insisted.

"I don't deny that." Shira huffed as she sensed that this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere, so she went over to where Moon, Yura, Adam and Sarah were. Sarah was hanging onto Adam's arm, rambling incoherent things while tears ran down her chin. She looked over Yura's shoulder and saw Moon struggling for breath.

"Are you okay?" Came the soft question from Yura.

"Yeah." She replied weakly in a whisper. "But my right forearm burns." She informed them. Adam took a look at it and indeed it did look as if it had burned.

"Let's get you two home." Shira said softly but firmly as well. "You can walk?"

"Of course I can!" she snapped indignantly and quickly stood on her feet.

ROROROR  
(Think whatever you want, I find it funny ^-^)

"Wow…" Was Shira's only comment on Moon and Sarah's little adventure.

"I have a question, how did Sarah come back to life?" Adam asked, his voice filled with curiosity. Moon thought for a moment.

"I don't know I just felt the power work on its own. I didn't do anything, I _couldn't _do anything." She explained. Adam nodded, a bit disappointed.

"You need to control your powers from now on, Moon. You can't let fate play with you like that. You need to be in charge." Yura told her firmly, a very stern look on his face and his voice unusually serious and angry at the same time. Everyone stared at him awkwardly as they walked through the forest.

"I'm sorry." Moon stuttered, knowing nothing else to say. Suddenly the expression on his face turned from stern and distant to confused in a matter of seconds.

"Why are you apologizing?" He asked and then smiled. "I just meant that you need to train with me more." Moon stared at him for a while and nodded.

"Where did that skeleton come from?" Sarah asked after being silent for too long. Everyone else turned and looked at Moon expectantly.

"Well, it felt like..." Moon fumbled for words to say.

"Like an overflow in your power that simply exploded and suddenly formed a big oversoul like the one we saw?" Yura completed for her nonchalantly. All eyes suddenly settled on him, a questioning look on them. Yura stared at them confused for a moment and then grinned.

"I just guessed!" He said with a shrug and laughed.

"Why did you tell Moon to train with you more in stead of training with me?" Shira asked suspiciously, pointing accusing fingers from him to herself.

"It's not the first time I see such oversouls or sense such foryoku. I've developed my own way of fighting and defeating them." Yura admitted hesitantly. His father shot him with a warning glare that made him flinch. The questions soon rained down on him.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you more." He apologized. He only earned a few stares and disappointed looks, he was glad that no one questioned him why. Moon sighed.

"I'm glad everyone's unharmed." She said in a relieved tone. _I'm glad too. _She heard Sarah's thought echo in her head. She glanced in Sarah's direction and saw her smiling at her. Moon felt confused for a moment. _A friend will die, your thoughts will collide, on the inside, are you dead or alive?It's quite simple, really. _She heard Ronkako's voice echo in heard. This was starting to give her a headache, but the first phrase of the riddle repeated in her mind suddenly made sense. Sarah died, and now she can suddenly listen to her thoughts and she can listen to hers. And she survived the trauma with exceptional ease. Was that what the phrase had meant? She wasn't sure but it fitted the situation right now. What was the second one? _The giant living underneath, he will soon be freed, the wrath will be unleashed, on the inside, are you dead or alive? Seriously, do I have to remind you of everything, stupid little girl? _Ronkako gave her the second phrase and she could hear him laugh faintly. _Great._ She sighed to herself. One moment that gladiator was attempting to kill her and the second he was making fun of her. But how came to settle into her mind and replacing David, she did not know. She let the matter be, trying to foresee what the phrases meant proved too head wracking and the same goes for figuring out Ronkako. Time solves everything, right?

* * *

Thunder: I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I couldn't fit all the things together so bear with me for a bit, the next chapter won't be long though, cuz I have most of it planned out in the correct way.

Please Review!


	42. Chapter 42

Thunder: It's stupid and silly, but enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 42**

**Open Jaws, Open Claws**

**Right after the last incident, everyone around Moon went with caution. They wouldn't leave her alone for more than fifteen minutes. They even took turns for taking her back home. Moon wasn't very happy about it, but she had little to say in the matter.**

"Yue Se, are you okay today?" Sarah asked concerned.

"Yeah, why?" Moon answered/asked with a smile.

"You don't sound that normal to me." Sarah admitted to her as they walked towards the cafeteria. Moon chuckled.

"That's probably because I'm starving; I can't wait to eat whatever they have. I'm hungry." She said while rubbing her stomach with a sheepish grin. Sarah looked at her with some doubt but nodded anyway.

"How's your arm?" She asked when they were a few steps away from the door.

"It still itches." Moon answered and then they entered the noisy and crowded huge room.

OOOO

"What do you think Moon is doing now?" Yura asked his shadow as he walked through the empty corridors.

"My senses tell me that danger is lurking near." The voice whispered in a very low voice. It came from his own shadow, but his shadow now had red eyes!

"That's not what I really wanted to know." Yura half answered half sulked and leaned on the wall with a sigh.

"Is this ever going to end?" He asked no one in particular but an answer came anyway.

"We should go as soon as possible." The voice of Shadow held urgency in it. Yura couldn't ignore it at all.

OOOO

"What in the world…?" Yura exclaimed as he reached the far corner of the street leading to Moon's school. Loud shouts and screams could be heard even from that far. He decided to get closer quickly and find out what the cause was. So what if he ran away from school? This was worth it!

OOOO

Moon was walking towards the school gate; she was ready to go out even if it was only half way through the school day. She had a bad day, she didn't feel well and she didn't want to see anybody anymore. She was halfway there when she felt surge of energy pass through her, similar to the one she had experienced a few days ago, but it was stronger. She carefully clutched the middle part of her forearm, pressing on the area where the pain is coming from.

She knelt down, surprisingly no one even noticed her, and then lifted her clutched hand. It was hard, seeing as the pain wouldn't allow her fingers to release the arm. When she did manage to pull it off though, she saw small beads of blood oozing out from that spot, and in a certain line too. After a while of wiping away the continuously oozing blood, she managed to make out a tiny upside down pentagon formed from tiny little scars.

The minute realization dawned upon her was the same moment in which five black foryoku strings shot out of the scar and dug their way into the hard concrete ground, the strings soon solidified to make five black vines with thorns sticking out of them.

And before she could even look up, she heard many shouts and screams resonating from inside the school building. She looked around and soon a huge, thick, and pointed pikes shoot out of the ground, startling everyone that was around it. She saw kids running, she saw girls screaming, she saw more pikes shooting out of the ground, she saw blood, she saw horror with every bit of the word's meaning and she could do nothing about it but watch silently, no voice escaped her lips, no movement, nothing.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Sarah running towards her, slipping on pools of blood and tripping on limp bodies spread around the place, a mask of worry and fear visible on her face. Moon's voice suddenly returned when a pike shot out right next to her friend. She had observed long enough to notice that the pikes were coming out more in the range that was closer to her than to any place further, but it also didn't allow a single kid to pass through the gates.

"Sarah don't come any closer! Go, run away!" She screamed while holding out her hand in a motion to stop her. Too late, Sarah was too close and, to Moon's horror, from the direction she had gestured with her hand, the direction in which Sarah was, was suddenly overflowed by pikes to the point that they even had to overlap or go through each other in order to appear. Moon gasped eyes full with tears. Her friend was gone, dead.

"What's going on here?" "Are you okay, Moon?" She could make out these two voices even with all the ruckus around her. She turned to the direction of the voices and saw both Shira and Jerry running towards her. Her eyes widened in shock, she didn't want them to share Sarah's, everyone's fate!

"No don't!" She screamed urgently and held out her hand in a stopping motion. The same thing happened; an overflowing number of pikes appeared before her raised hand and seemed to move like a wave towards the two adults. Splashing blood was the last thing she saw before she forced her eyes shut and screamed out in both anger and agony.

"Moon!" She heard Yura's clear voice from quite a distance away; she looked up and found the wavy image of the blond boy.

"Yura!" She called out half overjoyed and half horrified. She moved her arm in an act to reach out for him but quickly retracted it. She had already realized that it was her causing all this havoc, the pikes were in her control, but she didn't want any of this. But they still obeyed her in a blind way, her hands were a guide to those pikes, they would instantly follow the direction.

"Yura, don't come near!" She called out instead.

"What're you talking about?" He ignored the warning and took a few quick steps forward. Suddenly Seriou's ghost appeared in front of him and gave one, deep, thunderous, warning bark that would make anyone else run away for their lives. But Yura knew his loyal dog well, this meant _danger_ and he couldn't argue on that. So he waited, he waited until the screams and shouts went down to a deathly silence, until all the black pillars faded away to nothingness, leaving still, lifeless bodies lying on the blood stained ground.

He took slow, cautious steps forward towards Moon. The place reeked death; he twitched his nose in disgust. He looked around and the empty space was too suspicious. No ghost, no soul could be seen as far as the eye could see. What could this possibly mean? Yura didn't let his guard down for one moment; things were _clearly_ out of control here.

It didn't take long for him to reach Moon, cold, shivering, panting, and crying, Moon. She was scared, that was obvious. He tried to calm her down, surprisingly, it seemed to work! Suddenly he heard the distant sound of the police alarm. If they were seen in this mess, it would only mean **big **trouble. So he quickly helped Moon to her wobbly feet and supported her, then took on a quick pace towards the forest.

* * *

Thunder: Woooowwwww….I bet you all hated this chapter right? Well anyway, if anyone has the opinion that I should change the genre to horror then please review.

PLEASE REVIEW! Even if it's flames, (I actually want flames more than praises. So? Wanna make my day? THEN FLAME ME ALREADY!)


	43. Chapter 43

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 43**

**Lock The Knot**

"Calm down, Moon." Yura said softly as he sat on the couch with Moon sitting on his lap and her head resting on his shoulder. She was looking down in a semi trance-like state.

"Everything will be okay." He said soothingly while softly trying to rub warmth back into her shivering, frozen body. Moon's head suddenly snapped up.

"Okay? Okay? You think that after all of this has happened, everything would be okay?" She burst out, her voice gradually rising. Yura calmly shushed her and softly pushed her head back so that it's resting on his shoulder again. He could feel her uneasy breaths, he stroked her hair in attempt to calm her down but it only seemed to make it worse.

"How can it be okay? What about all the people I've killed." She whispered.

"What about them? Moon, it wasn't your fault." He told her while shaking his head.

"Technically it is. You see, those weird black things, they came out of me. And now everyone…even Shira and Sarah are now dead." She said in a low voice and then a strangled sob escaped her lips, tears soon ran down her cheeks. Yura kept on shushing her, whispering words of comfort to her while rocking back and forth and slowly rubbing her back.

"I felt the same." He said after a long silence. Moon looked up at him confused, only to meet his sorrowful eyes.

"What do you mean?" She stuttered as she dared to ask.

"I know how you feel…because I've felt it before you. I was chosen just like you." He explained to her but she only looked at him confused.

"You…have a monster inside you too?" She asked hesitantly.

"They aren't monsters once you tame them. They could become your most loyal friends if you work everything out well." He said with a faint smile and then pointed at her arm, where a scar in the shape of an upside down pentagon with pointy triangles, similar to the pillars that have appeared before, that were each connected to the pentagon by one line.

"That's your symbol…and this is mine." He said slowly and pointed at his right cheek. At first, there was nothing, and then faint black lines appeared to make out chaotic upward pointing curve strokes that made up a shape similar to a lion's mane. At the top of the mane was something like a horn. There was another, smaller chaotic drawing inside the first one. And inside that one was what looked like a pair of cat eyes and a weird looking muzzle. Whether the mouth was open or not, Moon could not tell. But one thing's for sure, it had four big canines similar to the prehistoric saber tooth tiger's in length, except that two were pointing down and two were pointing up. While there were four other, smaller pointed teeth each one placed between two of the four big ones one on the top, bottom, left and the right side of it's muzzle. The smaller ones seemed more like horns to Moon.

"You…Why didn't you tell me?" She asked him.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone. I think you know that." He told her with an apologetic smile. She blushed and dug her face into his shoulder. Yura sighed.

"Since when?" She asked after a while.

"Remember that time when I didn't come to visit for about a week?"

"We heard nothing from neither you nor your father." Moon replied.

"Yeah, I was in my beast's special training back then. That's where I enter a semi-death state in order to train in my beast's own area." He explained.

"Own area? You mean…a place where only the two of you can meet?" She asked.

"Yes." He nodded with a smile. She hummed a reply and went quiet again.

"Am I going to enter that state too?" She asked in a low voice.

"Yes." He answered her and she went silent again. A while later and Yura found her sound asleep in his arms. He went over to the sofa and set her there. Then he sat on the far end and put her head on his lap. _She looks so peaceful when she sleeps._ Yura thought to himself with a smile. He got up, brought some bandages and antiseptics, and bandaged Moon's scars on her forearm.

He turned on the TV after a long while and sat back. The news was all about the school incident. He kept flipping through all the channels with a frown on his face. Nothing on but police gathered around the school, searching around. The reporter was talking about something called "School Mayhem" but Yura wasn't interested.

"Should I give myself to the police?" Moon's silent and emotionless voice startled Yura. He instantly looked down to meet her depressed eyes.

"Are you crazy? Of course not! They wouldn't believe you even if you tell them! There's no way that a teenage girl could kill an entire school in a matter of minutes!" He half exclaimed. Moon's expression darkened and she got up.

"Huh? Moon wait, I didn't mean that..."

"Shut up!" She cut him off and dashed towards her room.

"Moon! Wait!" He quickly ran after her but only reached the room when the door was slammed.

"Moon open up, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." Yura apologized. A faint click made it clear that the door was now locked.

"I'm not coming out of this room ever again." Moon's sad voice said from behind the door.

"What? Moon, come on! I'm serious now, get out of there!" He yelled but tried to keep his voice as low as possible.

"No!" She yelled back stubbornly. Yura gritted his teeth and calmed himself down.

"Fine…But you will come out sooner or later." He said as he walked away. He decided to leave her alone for a while for her to rest and to get her mind cleared.

OOOO

"This is all my fault…" Yura grumbled as he covered his face with one hand.

"Don't blame yourself. How could you know that she'd lock herself up for a week?" Adam soothed him in the most casual way possible. His actions never failed to irritate Yura and he growled.

"I still feel responsible about it." He repeated stubbornly with a tinge of guilt in his voice.

"Ah, young lovers' problems, isn't it? Don't worry, she'll forgive you." Adam said with a cheeky smile and took a sip from his juice. Yura blushed furiously before he reacted.

"We're not…I mean, of course she'll…I mean…I…a…That's none of our business!" He finally managed and his father laughed.

"Well, you love her don't you?" He asked. Yura blushed and looked away, giving a slight nod. Adam nodded in response.

"Don't worry; it's probably that she's in her training now. You went through that too, didn't you?" He asked after a while.

"Yeah but I wasn't alone! You were there by my side all the time. But she went and got herself locked up alone and even put a barrier so that no one would enter!" He said while he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"She'll be alright, trust me." Adam assured him and Yura could only nod and hope that he's right.

* * *

Thunder: I think that was too dramatic… Haha! If you don't flame then I'll flame myself! HAHAHA!

Please Review!


	44. Chapter 44

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 44**

**Give Me A Reason Not To**

"Moon, please come out…" Yura said as he knocked her door for the twentieth time this day. It's been two weeks and Yura was going desperate.

"We have Spaghetti today!" He said with the most cheerful voice he could manage at the moment. No response. He sighed and let his head hang down. He was about to walk away when he heard a shuffling sound from the other side of the door.

"Moon?" He asked excitedly as he flattened himself to the door, trying to make out more sounds. A faint click could be heard and Yura quickly backed away to let it gently swing open by a tired, messed up Moon. Yura stepped back, a huge, excited grin on his face.

"Moon!" He exclaimed and swiftly grabbed her in a passionate hug and kiss. Moon gasped and stepped back. Yura looked puzzled at first and then blushed furiously.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He apologized frantically. Moon's face was flushed; she slowly reached and touched her lips.

"Don't be." She whispered.

"Huh?" Before Yura could get an answer, he was pulled into soft kiss. The sound of someone clearing his throat distracted them and they both pulled away blushing.

"Dinner's ready." Adam said and he turned around and went down the stairs.

"Sometimes I can't help but think that he loves annoying me." Yura grumbled under his breath, his cheeks still red. Suddenly Moon started chuckling and then burst out in a fit of laughter. Yura stared at her baffled and blinked.

"Um...Are you okay, Moon?" He asked confused and then Moon laughed even harder, her messed up hair made her look like a maniac in a laughing fit. It took her a few minutes to calm down.

"Man, you should've seen your face!" She said gigling, barely catching her breath.

"So…what happened?" She asked him with a smile, totally ignoring the kiss. Yura blinked at her for a moment disappointed.

"Um, you were asleep for two weeks, I think." He answered her with an unsure tone.

"You think?" She looked at him skeptically.

"You had the door locked!" He countered and she laughed with a nod.

"You hungry?" He asked her.

"You're kidding? I'm starving!" She exclaimed excitedly, grabbed his hand, and ran down the stairs.

"Well you're sure full of energy for someone who's starving." He commented on the way.

"I see you're looking well. That's good. So how did your training go?" Adam asked as the two rushed into the dining room.

"Oh yeah I totally forgot! It went great; I've learned so many things. But I still need a lot of practice." She answered and then looked over at Yura. "Ronkako and I are now getting along quite well by the way. Not good but just enough to keep us going together." She added. They soon had a happy, cheery dinner and then they went off to their beds.

OOOO

Moon couldn't sleep at all. She felt utterly tired but she couldn't bring her train of thoughts to stop. Finally, she got up and searched in her drawers, finding her doll and Shira's wolf…she picked them up, one in each hand and regarded them for a while. They both represented someone who's now dead. The doll represented her father while the wolf represented Shira's father. But now it represented something else, it represents Shira herself.

It was hard to think that someone is now dead and not coming back anymore. A person needs to remember all the good stuff though. She took her backpack from the far corner of the bed and emptied it. Then took the hooks hanging from each doll that Adam had fashioned for her before, hooked them to one of the many half loops that are placed randomly on the grayish green backpack. Went and stuffed a pair of pants and t-shirts into it then went down to the kitchen. There she scooped up a few bottles of water and a few pieces of bread and dried food that would last her for at least four days. She quickly wrote a short message on a scrap of paper and placed it on the kitchen table where anyone can see it.

After a moment's hesitation, she went up to Yura's bedroom, tentatively knocking on the door. She let herself in after hearing some faint snores. She walked towards the bed, where Yura lied fast asleep, then she stopped, realizing that a dark figure was just behind her, watching her with gleaming, observant red eyes. She spun around on her heels and looked the beast into the eyes.

"So…what are you planning to do, little girl?" The black lion asked with a smirk, showing it's bright white teeth.

"You're Yura's chosen, aren't you?" She asked him in a low voice.

"Why yes. I am his chosen weapon and loyal friend, Shadow." He replied with a bow and she went silent for quite a while.

"How many did you have to kill?" She asked in a low, grim voice. The lion regarded her for a while.

"Only one. That dog, Seriou. But I let her soul free. Now don't go and tell me you're feeling guilty about what happened are you?" He asked her with disbelief. Moon only gave one single nod.

"You shouldn't." He stated calmly.

"Why? Give me one reason why I shouldn't...and what do you mean _let her soul free_?" She asked him a bit annoyed and confused.

"Because it simply wasn't you. Ronkako came out with half of his force and made such a mess. Consider yourself lucky. Young master still carries a grudge against me for killing his dog and feels guilty every morning for letting me do it. The point is, feeling guilty won't help anyone and Yura-sama already realized that. You can't change the past but you can move forward and make up for your mistakes. Oh, we black beasts suck souls, releasing them will only weaken us but we can still do it. I'm sure Ronkako would help you if you'd work hard." Shadow told her softly with a smile. No matter how scary it looked, his eyes showed much kindness and faith. She took a breath and nodded returning the smile.

"That's exactly what I was going to do. I just want to say goodbye and then I'll be off." She said gesturing towards the still snoring Yura, now hugging his pillow and drooling. Shadow chuckled.

"Leaving for training I see. Well, I'll tell young master about your doing, so don't worry. Hurry up and go or he might actually run and catch up to you." Shadow said jokingly but then looked serious. Moon got the idea, thanked him and then swiftly went and changed her clothes to something comfortable, grabbed her backpack and ran out of the house and into the woods.

* * *

Thunder: I hope you liked it. I…kind of did. At least there's not too much left. If I do it correctly with no extra useless stuff….then I think I'm gonna finish it in three to four more chapters, maybe less! I'm so happy! I have no idea how I'm gonna do the next chapter, the others after are fine…but the next one will be HARD! Man….I have to figure something out soon.

Please Review!


	45. Chapter 45

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 45**

**Moon went through a two week training planned by her chosen beast/guardian. Leaving nothing behind but a single piece of paper after waking up, she decides to continue her training alone, searching around for something she has yet to find out.**

Yura yawned loudly and stretched as he got up; stretched some more, rubbed his eyes, and then headed towards the bathroom. A few minutes later he came back to his room and threw his pajama's shirt off, moving around with his eyes closed as if he had memorized everything he has to do and everything that's in his way. Shadow was watching him all the while, sitting silently and motionlessly under the morning sun's bright rays of light. The lion's textures seemed creepier than what they look like in the dark.

He waited until Yura finished dressing up for the day and followed him down the stairs. Yura slowly walked past Moon's room and absently knocked it.

"Moon, breakfast. Wake up." He called out lazily and Shadow smirked. Yura soon dropped himself on the breakfast table's chair. He reached out for a spoon but couldn't find it. He felt around the table and then opened his left eye, no spoon to be seen. There would usually be a bowl of breakfast for him by this time... He looked up and found his dad eyeing a piece of paper as if trying to figure it out. The expression on his face showed nothing to be concerned about, but Yura knew his father better than anyone did.

"What's wrong dad?" He asked.

"It seems that Moon left us." His father told him nonchalantly as he sat down on the chair across from Yura and slid the piece of paper towards him.

_"I'll be gone for a long time; I want to see the world. Thanks for everything you've given me so far, don't worry about me. I hope I'd be able to meet you in the tournament. Sincerely, Moon."_ Yura slapped his hands on the table and got up, a mixture of shock and worry on his face. His father looked up at him with surprise.

"Don't tell me you didn't expect that?" He asked disbelievingly.

"What do you…you knew and you didn't tell me?" Yura asked shocked.

"Actually I have a confession to make…" Shadow started after being quiet for too long. He made sure the two's attention was turned to him and then he spoke.

"The girl came to your room yesterday, a few minutes before midnight, wondering if she should wake you up. After a small conversation, I learned that she wants to go and train by herself, to find her own way in things. So I told her to hurry up and go before you wake up, young master, and I promised her to deliver her message to you. She says _goodbye, don't follow me and don't worry about me_. I'll be gone, now that I did what she asked!" Shadow said the last sentence hurriedly and started disappearing, until a loud shout stopped him.

"You didn't even try to stop her? Why didn't you wake me up?" Yura yelled furiously. Shadow cringed slightly, which slightly surprised Yura for a brief moment.

"Young master, she has chosen the right decision in my opinion, so I let her go." He told his master. Yura glared at him, arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't think so… she's all alone out there." He told him in a calm voice.

"That's not true, she has three spirits running along with her, she has great techniques and learned more on top of them. She probably took everything she needs too, so no need to worry, right?" Adam pointed out. Shadow quickly took the chance and disappeared. Yura sighed and sagged into his chair, then leaned over the table and rested his head on his palm.

"I wonder what she's doing right now…" He mumbled to himself.

"Probably walking around." Adam suggested as he stood up to make breakfast.

"Do you think I could catch up to her?" He asked with a shimmer of hope in his voice. His father glanced at him for a moment.

"She left at midniht, she's probably out of town by now." His father's reply made Yura sag even more.

"What should I do now?" He mumbled.

"The same thing she's doing right now, train harder so that when you meet at the tournament, you'd both be equal in strength." Adam told him.

"Yeah! That's what I'll do!" He shouted excitedly with a fist in the air. Adam laughed and nodded.

"What if she's doing something dangerous?" Yura asked with a gasp of shock. Adam stared at him and Yura stared back, both thinking the sentence over.

OOOO

"Can't you hurry up?" Moon asked the scary looking, huge man that was holding the machine with shaking hands.

"You sure you want this?" He asked nervously. Moon sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes.

"I just asked you to outline it with black, is that so hard?" She asked annoyed.

"No not at all." He said confidently. "It's just that you look so delicate…I don't want to hurt you." He explained rather shyly. Moon grunted in annoyance.

"The lines are there, I just need to paint them black! But if you're so concerned then I can easily go somewhere else you know." She said while standing up, making sure that her shirt was covering her chest.

"No, no wait!" He called out hurriedly before she went into the other room of his store. She stopped and slowly turned her head around, eyes showing complete annoyance and impatience.

The man gulped, but stood firm. I'll do that tattoo you want. Moon sighed "Finally." She muttered and went back to the seat, keeping her arms over her covered chest all the while. The man soon settled onto his work.

OOOO

"Nah, Moon wouldn't do anything like that…would she?" They said and asked each other simultaneously, exchanging worried looks.

"Well, even if she does, we won't be there to stop her." Adam said nonchalantly while taking a bite from his toast.

"What? I just can't understand how you can act so calmly in a situation like this!" Yura said frustrated.

"There is no situation here." Adam pointed out.

"I give up." Yura grunted and ate his breakfast.

* * *

Thunder: Hhhmmmmm, not long, really short…but okay I guess...no it's bad...oh well, as if anything from this story was good to begin with. I jumped a whole two years from the story…I'm so happy! :D Now then, next chapter we'll be meeting someone, try to guess on your own! (as if anyone would even bother, hah!)

Please Review!


	46. Chapter 46

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 46**

**Welcome To Our World**

**Moon walked on for days and days, trained hard and found that living in the wild nature was not so bad but also not that easy. Now it has been a few months since she last left, but so far, she faced nothing that was too troublesome.**

"Where are we now?" Kanil asked after wandering aimlessly in what seemed like a deserted area. The atmosphere was both light and tense at the same time; the ground was cracked because of lack of water. Nothing seemed to show any sign of living, a perfect place to train.

"I don't know. Hey Sun, would you go and scout the area from the sky?" Moon asked the floating, bony spirit. Sun nodded and started flying up, his scythe ready in his hands in case of any unexpected encounters.

"Check the radius of about twenty to forty meters, okay? Make sure there's no one we could possibly disturb." She added, shouting so that he could hear her. Sun nodded again and went up even higher until he was as tiny as a black dot in the sky.

Moon waited for a while until Sun came down hurriedly, seeming to have something important to say. Moon turned all of her attention to him, narrowing her eyes as she met the red glint in his dark hollow eyes. Then she nodded, giving him permission to talk.

"There house, big! Far no, look high." Sun reported, waving his hand towards the house's direction. Moon thanked him with a soft smile and proceeded towards that direction. It is only fair to tell neighbors that they're planning to make some ruckus.

Soon she arrived at the edge of a cliff; a clear; round and deep crater could be viewed from her spot. At the center of that crater was what looked like a mansion rather than a house. It looked more luxurious than her parent's house! She contemplated the thought of going down there.

"They're certainly shamans." Kanil stated. "A renowned family from the looks of that house." She added pointing at the big mansion. Moon looked at her for a moment and then back at the towering Chinese styled house.

"How can you tell?" Moon asked unsure of herself.

"The house is large, leading to a well-known and old family that has surely run many things. The fact that the house is in the middle of nowhere proves that they are shamans. If not, then the house is old and deserted." Kanil explained.

"And your suggestions are?" Moon asked, not lifting her eyes from the mansion.

"Check it out if you want, but be cautious." said Kanil and then she disappeared, leaving Moon to her thoughts. Moon stood there for a while, a strong gust of wind played through her scruffy black hair. She finally decided to slide down the crater.

She was only half way down when an army of men suddenly popped out of nowhere, filling the entire crater, surrounding the mansion. They were all wearing similar Chinese black uniforms. She ran on, considering what she could possibly do against such an army. She knew it was foolish to be running so fast right into this clear trap. But she had to take the risk, she was looking for training after all, and these guys would be just perfect for starters.

As she came closer, the men began to move forward as well. The first strange thing she noticed was that every man's skin was a dead purple color and they all had weird yellow papers stuck on their foreheads. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but there was no time for steady thinking, she had to think and work fast at the same time. She first started with hand-to-hand combat, but they were all well built, her attacks didn't do much damage so she called for her spirit.

"Sun, into the rod!" She called out and quickly engaged her bone scythe oversoul. She slashed through the first two men, cutting the first's arm and the other's leg. Moon stared disbelievingly; it didn't seem to bother either of them at all! As if they hadn't even felt any pain, they just moved forward, their faces shadowed by the hats they were wearing.

"What do you think they are?" She asked both of her spirits as she slashed through anyone who came too close to her.

"Zombies!" Was Sun's reply.

"Is that even possible?" She asked again as the men circled her.

"I've heard rumors and stories, but never saw them with my own eyes before." Kanil replied, appearing beside her.

"Get ready then." Moon announced as she jumped clear of the zombies. "They're already dead so there's no harm in killing them right? Kanil, into the silver bracelet!" She commanded and the white glowing light resonated from her left hand. She dashed into the mob of zombies and gracefully attacked each one she met, turning them to bone.

She fought on, her pale moon oversoul in her left hand and the bone scythe in her right hand. Soon she noticed that if she cut the weird papers then the zombies would turn to dust. This made it easier for her, except for one problem. These zombies had no end to them, no matter how many she sliced down; more would come up and replace them. If this kept going then she'd eventually lose power.

She jumped away and ran some place back, a few paces away from the slow motion zombies. She stood there, catching her breath while trying to come up with a plan, wiping away beads of sweat as she did so.

"Let's do a big attack!" Kanil suggested.

"No, they'll keep coming." Moon countered as her mind calculated. "These things…they are like oversouls, aren't they?" Moon asked tentatively.

"I suppose, yes." Kanil's voice answered from the bracelet.

"Then this just might work! If we find the person controlling them then we wouldn't need to fight these zombies!" Moon said enthusiastically.

"But where?" Sun wondered. Moon stared once again, this brought here nowhere. She'd still have to fight her way around in order to fight the conjurer, the controller of these puppets.

"Don't be rational, can you sense him out?" Kanil suggested. Moon closed her eyes and concentrated, then shook her head no.

"There's no other option then, prepare for full power!" Moon shouted and ran at top speed towards the zombies, powering up her left arm while attacking with the scythe. Then, when she made sure that she was in the middle of the undead mob, she released the energy.

After a number of huge attacks, half the men were turned to bone, only a few remained but it proved to consume an amount of energy that Moon couldn't comprehend and thus she collapsed. Fainted from energy loss. The only thing she remembered as she hit the ground was the sound of her pants and the closing steps of a tall man.

* * *

Thunder: I finally updated! YAY! Well, I'm sorry for taking so long, but for once, I had fun with this chapter, I just had some time to figure things out. I know I said that the next chapter would be the last, but I'm not sure yet, if I can fit it all in then I don't mind but it might end up with another chapter, but I promise you that it won't take more than a week! Oh and I'm really grateful, surprised and shocked that there really are people out there who read my story, so I just want to thank everyone, this really encourages me. :D

Please Review!


	47. Chapter 47

Thunder: Enjoy!

**ATTENTION PLEASE! I EDITED THIS CHAPTER AFTER THAT EVERYONE HAD READ IT. SORRY! IT'S A SLIGHT CHANGE, JUST THE AGE, SOMETHING THAT REALLY ATTRACTS THE ATTENTION OF PEOPLE LIKE ME, SO JUST CHECK IT OUT.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 47**

**Exception**

**After a number of huge attacks, half the men were turned to bone, only a few remained but it proved to consume an amount of energy that Moon couldn't comprehend and thus she collapsed. Fainted from energy loss. The only thing she remembered as she hit the ground was the sound of her pants and the closing steps of a tall man.**

He stood there, eyeing the girl that wiped out half of his Jiang Shi army in such short time. She wasn't something exceptional, an average teenage girl with scruffy black hair, wearing a black shirt and black, loose jeans with many pockets and normal black training shoes. She lied there unconscious on her side, panting softly.

He stared at her with uninterested eyes, seeing her as tiny and insignificant as anyone else in his eyes. Suddenly he felt as if something was trying to choke him. He realized that it was only a sensation due to the unexpected amount of power that is now pouring out of her body. Then her spirits detached from her mediums, a young woman in her late twenties and a skeleton wearing a black cloak. They were both glaring at him aggressively.

"Why did you attack us without warning? We meant no harm!" The woman hissed between gritted teeth. The man stared at her for a moment, a superior look in his eyes.

"You are…her mother?" He slowly asked.

"Yes I am. My name is Kanil, my daughter's name is Nataly and this here is Sun." She tried to sound polite as she introduced each one, holding back anger, telling him their names should show that they had no bad intentions to hide. The man simply nodded and turned to walk away.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" This came out of her mouth unintentionally. The man stopped and slightly turned his head towards them.

"She is homeless I suppose?" He asked. Kanil stared at him, taken aback by the sudden, off-subject question. The man didn't wait for an answer and walked away towards his mansion, which wasn't so far away now that Kanil looked at it. It seems that Moon had cut her way through deep enough to be this close to the entrance.

The man had disappeared and Kanil sat next to her daughter, her transparent hands stroking her daughter's hair. It didn't take long until she noticed a lady coming out of the mansion's gates; followed by two men who seemed to be zombies as well and yet, looked different from the one's they had fought seconds ago, for one they didn't have one of those yellow tags stuck on their foreheads. The woman came near them and faintly knelt down close to them. She was a beautiful woman; she had dark green hair with matching dark green eyes, wearing a fine and delicate traditional Chinese dress and a pink robe on top.

"Hello." She greeted kindly with a warm, sincere smile.

"My name is Ran Tao; you are welcome to rest in our house as long as you wish." She said introducing herself. Kanil stared surprised for a moment; didn't they just attack her daughter? And now they're being nice?

"These two are my faithful guardians, this is Shu." She introduced and pointed at the zombie on her right, he had pinkish red, scruffy hair that was cut in a weird way, part of it extended to the lower part of his back while the other part barely reached his neck, and he seemed quite aggressive and not the type you would like to talk with.

"And this is Kyo." She said pointing at the zombie on her left. He had green hair that reached below his back and just above his thighs, even though he had it tied up in a high ponytail; he looked a lot gentler than Shu.

"Let Kyo carry your daughter in, while you can accompany me." She half suggested half ordered. Kyo bent down and carried Moon in his arms while Shu stood motionless. Ran offered her hand to help Kanil up, Kanil hesitated but seeing as she had no say in this matter she accepted, even if she was a ghost, it was a nice gesture of the woman to help her like this.

Ran led the way back towards the mansion, Shu walking ahead of them, opening the large doors for his mistress, looking serious all the time. Kanil noticed the great, huge hall. It was large and filled with many antiques. The colors were all dark; the walls were painted black and outlined with an outstanding bright red. There was some furniture here and there, most of it being made out of very dark colored wood, probably mahogany wood. She walked beside Ran, or rather hovered beside her; she looked around right and left, noticing the many antiques that filled every corner of the halls and corridors. Ran explained to her how the Jiang Shis work and the basic way of how they're made.

She followed Ran up and down staircases and walked through many doors and rooms until they finally stopped in front of one of a million doors. Shu opened the door and they all naturally went in. The room had a small window but was very well lit by the sun's rays; there was a bed below the window and a cupboard at the other side of the room. It wasn't big, but it was great all the same.

"I asked my servants to prepare this room for you, please feel at home." Ran said turning towards Kanil, she had meant this to all of them though. Kyo settled Moon into her new bed and they all quietly left the girl to rest.

"So tell me, what brought such a young girl to a deserted place like this and on her own?" Ran asked as she poured tea in two teacups, one for her and one for Kanil.

"Well, we were all looking around, searching for new ways to train and strengthen ourselves for the shaman fight. And we just happened to end up here." Kanil replied. Ran hummed in response as she carried the tray towards the little table and settled it there, then offered a cushion for Kanil to sit on.

"We know of the shaman fight, we are training our children for it too." Ran stated and offered a teacup to Kanil.

"Now you tell me, why did that man attack us with so many zombies, I mean, Jiang Shis?" Kanil asked as they both sat down.

"That was my husband En Tao. A man with few words but he would do anything to protect his family. You understand right?" She answered, smiling apologetically. Kanil thought for a moment and nodded her head.

"Yes I do understand. You must've been subject to a very hard time." Kanil stated. Ran took a sip from her tea and nodded.

"It has been a hard time, my husband felt really betrayed and so he acts hostile towards any stranger." Kanil nodded in understanding.

"Actually…" Ran said after a while, drawing Kanil's attention.

"I'm quite surprised that he let your daughter live, he must've seen something in her to ask me to let you both in." She told her as a matter of fact.

"My daughter does have exceptional powers." Kanil said sounding rather proud. Ran chuckled but hid it with her robe's long sleeve.

"Mama…" A small, faint voice called from behind the door.

"Oh come in sweet heart." Ran called back and a small head tentatively peered out of the door. It was a girl, with big green eyes and short green hair, wearing a traditional Chinese green, sleeveless dress.

"Come on in darling, it's alright." Ran gestured for the little girl to come closer. The girl took one look at the guest and then quickly dashed towards her mother, still looking at Kanil's ghost. Kanil smiled, trying to make the girl feel more comfortable but it didn't seem to do much.

"I'm sorry; we're not used to having strangers here that's all. This is my daughter Jun. And I also have a son, Ren." Ran introduced and then looked down at her daughter.

"Go and call your brother." She whispered to her and then Jun took off out of the room.

"She's a sweet little thing. Reminds me of Moon when she was a kid. How old is she?" Kanil asked with a smile.

"Jun is ten now, and Ren is only five years old." Ran told her happily. Kanil nodded with a smile. She knew how wonderful it is to have kids; it's really something to be happy about...if they are well raised that is.

Soon the little girl, Jun came back along with her little brother. An adorable thing, with his huge, curious golden yellow eyes sowed both curiosity and distrust, his indigo hair strangely stood up on the end of his head, making it look like an antenna. He was half-walking, half-staggering behind his sister, wearing a pair of red Chinese trousers, loose around the thighs and a yellow Chinese shirt.

"Oh how cute!" Kanil exclaimed, startling the boy _and_ the girl who both ran and hid behind their mother. Both women chuckled.

"Did you enjoy your tea?" Ran asked after a while, gesturing at the untouched teacup.

"Oh yes, very much thank you. I haven't had one for a long time." Kanil thanked her. And they talked on, hours passed and Moon still didn't wake up. Her mother knew that she was tired from the long journey so she let it be.

* * *

The next morning Moon woke up in a room she had never seen before, in a bed she had never seen before. She stared confused at her surroundings until Sun appeared in front of her, a huge grin on his face, followed by her mother.

"You finally woke up. I'm glad." Kanil stated, sounding unusually happy.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"We are at the Tao Family's estate. Remember the man you saw before you fainted? He and his wife offered us a place to live with them." Kanil told her. Moon blinked in surprise.

"So…what now?" She asked after a long moment of silence.

"Go take a bath I assume. Then get ready for breakfast." Kanil suggested. Moon's stomach growled at the mentioning of breakfast, she hadn't had proper meals for ages now and a bath sounded so wonderful. She quickly let her mother guide her towards the bathroom and in no time, she was clean again, dressed in fresh new clothes. It seems they only had robes around here, after searching a bit more she found some nice looking Chinese black trousers, tight around the ankles but loose around everywhere else. Then she found a Chinese black, half-sleeved shirt that fit her loosely. It had a nice white flower and vine pattern forming a line from the left shoulder and down to the right side of her waist. She quickly put them on and stood in front of the mirror, ruffled her hair a little bit and then asked the magic question.

"How do I look?" She asked with a huge happy smile on her face.

"Like you finally got life back in you." Kanil said and hugged Moon who only chuckled.

"You look absolutely wonderful, a beautiful Chinese girl, just like I always saw you." Kanil continued. "Now let's go down and thank this family for everything they've done for us, right?" She said smiling and kissed her daughter on the forehead. Moon nodded with a grin that seemed to be plastered on her face for the whole day long.

* * *

"Thank you very much for letting me stay during the night. Please forgive me if I was a burden to you all." Moon said, bowing down, saying it with clear words and in a voice not too loud and not too low, then she stood upright to see the expressions on everyone's face.

The Tao family, that consisted of five members, the parents, the children and the grandfather, Chin Tao, were all seated on a big round table, ready to eat their breakfast. They all exchanged glances with each other, except for the children who looked in confusion at Moon. And it seemed that the father was missing from the table as well. There was a huge empty space that left one thinking that it was a complete waste of space, just then someone so huge suddenly appeared out of nowhere, filling that entire space.

Looking closer while trying very hard not to gape, Moon noticed that it was indeed a person. A huge, muscled man, he seemed quite fat but his size covered most of it. He had a weird thunder like tattoo on the left side of his stomach, he also had the symbol of the yin and the yang tattooed on the middle of his stomach and it had spikes coming out of the yin's side. He had a very small head, compared to the rest of his body; he had a weird long pointed moustache and small eyes. His hair was pointed up, he had a long purple robe that was decorated with gold colored patterns, and he wore white loose pants covered with a purple cloth held by a double belt.

"You were not a burden at all." Ran said with a smile, as if the presence of the giant didn't bother or surprise her at all. Moon quickly got over her surprise and smiled back thankfully.

"You can stay, if you want." The huge man told her. Moon stared at him for a while until she registered what he had just said.

"This is En Tao, head of the Tao family and my husband." Ran introduced. Moon looked from Ran and slowly up to En, then back at the children who seemed to be a lot more like their mother.

"I don't like repeating myself. Do you want to stay with us or not? You have nowhere else to go, so think about it. You have time till afternoon, now please enjoy breakfast." He said with a very serious voice and then said the last sentence with a very creepy wide smile. Moon stared at him for a few seconds and nodded her head then sat down on the table with everyone else. Suddenly a strong feeling of happiness washed over her, she felt as if she had always lived here.

"Ran take Jun and Ren to their training now." En half-asked half commanded his wife. Ran nodded and took the kids with her, the grandfather soon left to wherever he usually goes and the father suddenly disappeared from the room, leaving Moon standing alone in the kitchen. Suddenly a voice resonated in the room, asking her to go to a certain room. She didn't know why but she obeyed, she followed the voice up towards the top floor and there, she stood before one of the biggest doors she has ever seen.

She hesitated for a moment but then reached out her hand and pushed the door open. The door led to a very dark room, she slowly entered it, recognizing nothing in the darkness. The door behind her slowly closed itself with a low _boom_ sound. A few moments passed until her eyes adjusted to the darkness, at the far end of the room, she noticed one huge chair; it looked more like a throne and in it sat the great, huge En Tao.

"Have you decided yet?" he asked with that creepy smile. Moon gulped and stared right into his glowing yellow eyes.

"You wouldn't mind, would you?" She asked with a wavering voice but still had her personal boldness added to it.

"I am the one who asked you to stay in the first place, so is that a yes?" En asked sitting back and looking serious.

"Yes." Moon replied firmly.

"On one condition." He quickly stated.

"Name it."

"You will train with me everyday and slowly show me that weird power I feel resonating from you. My curiosity is the only thing that made you an exception to others; do not betray my unexpected trust in you."

"I never hurt or betray those who help me. I agree only as long as I get to fight who you really are and not this oversoul of yours." Moon countered as she crossed her arms over her chest. En raised an eyebrow.

"So you noticed?" He asked trying to hide his shock.

"No one can be this huge and I know an oversoul when I see one, I learned that from my trainer." Moon said with eyes distant in memories.

"Must be a very good trainer then. Alright, agreed." En said and his huge oversoul suddenly shattered into many pieces and what was left was only one thin, tall man with the same weird pointy moustache, if not longer, and a small, short beard. His black hair was tied up in a pointed up ponytail and his eyes were a dark black color. He wore the same purple and gold robe along with a light black kimono tied with a red sash and it also had a dragon printed on it.

"You must promise not to tell anyone that I am hiding myself like this." He told her.

"You have my word sir." Moon assured him and bowed her head in respect. And since then they started on their secret training.

* * *

Thunder: Oookay, so it wasn't THAT great but it WAS something, and something quick by that. I drifted off and went into details again, a bad habit but this is me and frankly, I enjoy it….okay. I'll squish things in the next chapter and then I'll say, **The End**. No not now…it might take a few days…..actually I might say **To be continued** because this story connects to two other stories…..oh well, till then.

**ATTENTION PLEASE! I EDITED THIS CHAPTER AFTER THAT EVERYONE HAD READ IT. SORRY! IT'S A SLIGHT CHANGE, JUST THE AGE, SOMETHING THAT REALLY ATTRACTS THE ATTENTION OF PEOPLE LIKE ME, SO JUST CHECK IT OUT. SORRY AGAIN.**

Please Review!


	48. Chapter 48

Thunder: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Chapter 48**

**Goodbye**

"Is this the best you can offer?" En taunted as he deflected Moon's scythe attack. Moon stood back a few paces, panting and wiping away sweat with the back of her hand. "This is it, I make my strongest oversoul and you make your own and then we'll see how much you've learned this past two years." En suggested with a grinning smirk, he hadn't had this much fun and excitement in years. Moon gave a challenging smile and nodded her head.

"You first." She said gesturing with her head as her previous oversoul disintegrated. En disintegrated his own, huge Daidou-oh ovrsoul and started forming his Daidouryuu oversoul, the oversoul he always uses at the end of each training they had together. The huge body of a dragon appeared in the air above En, moving swiftly and gracefully like a snake in the air while the head was the same as the one in daidou-oh, a funny but strong combination. En took his position and nodded for her to start.

Moon stood firmly, eyeing En and his oversoul critically. This was her last shot, so she had to make it work this time. She shut her eyes and concentrated, black and blue balls of light started to surround her, slowly growing more in size and number until they formed a raging flame of bluish black light around her and then she called out for her spirits.

"Kanil, into the silver bracelet! Sun, into the scythe necklace! Ronkako, into the black bracelet!" She chose her mediums carefully, making sure to match each spirit with his appropriate place. Kanil with the family bracelet, Sun with the necklace that Shira gave him on their first meeting and Ronkako with the bracelet that locked away all his powers. He had taught her a way to ease the power off her body and transport it into something solid on the condition that it remains with her at all times; even the tattoo of the spiked flower on her arm is gone now and is instead on one of the bracelet's black stones.

Now she stood with three oversouls, Kanil's in her left hand, Sun's in her right and the huge skeletal form of Ronkako that broke from the ground behind her. She had managed it this far, that's good, that's an improvement. Now all she needs to do is perform the final and hardest step.

"Ancient Spirit Technique: Tamashi Maji, Baiti Maji!" Then she let out a very long and loud battle cry, as the power surrounding her grew stronger and merged. She had to keep concentrating, merging the three mediums was child's play, the real thing was merging the souls into one, then adding this merged soul into the merged medium.

She finally managed that but her powers were already down to half by then. The swirling flames of energy finally vanished into smoky air, revealing a big, black, broadsword. The hilt was decorated with small diamonds and one big red ruby in the middle, between the sword and the hilt.

At first glance, one wouldn't pay much attention to the dark, expensive looking sword but once you take a better look you'd feel the immense power radiating from it. A few moments later black, spiked vines started to form around the hilt, entwining around it, down around Moon's arms and finally surrounding her body like an armor.

"Oversoul: Kuro no ashinjin no oujo" Moon announced the name of her oversoul as she held it in front of her, panting to get some air as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. En smirked as he concluded the amount of foryoku that was stuffed into that oversoul, he stood no chance against it but he held firm as Moon charged towards him. He deflected most of the attacking vines and dodged a few of her long ranged attacks as well. He sent Daidouryuu flying towards her in a massive attack but the spiked armor protected her and then she simply sliced through the oversoul as if it was air. She dashed off in extraordinary speed towards En and stabbed the earth mere inches away from him. She wouldn't do that in real battles, but seeing as anything else would cause death she decided it would be best.

Black thorns shot out of the ground beneath En's feet, scratching him everywhere as it proceeded to climb up, entwining around him with deathly pressure. Moon did her best to avoid any sort of fatal damage but it was still out of control. The thorns finally formed a black tower with En in the middle of it. Moments passed but nothing happened.

She turned around, relaxing a bit but letting down her guard was the worst mistake she ever did. En had cut through the vines and thorns with the Horai sword and was now heading towards her. She stared at him wide eyed from above her shoulder, her body stiffened and she couldn't even turn around to face him.

At the last moment, just before the sword made contact, she turned around fast enough to avoid the sharp blade. That was when En stopped himself and looked at the panting girl.

"Never underestimate the enemy nor turn your back to them, not until you made sure they are dead." He told her calmly and pointed at her slightly bleeding waist as the Horai sword shrunk to a simple hilt and guard with a bit of the sword still extended. En was covered in scratches that bled but he was standing firm and eyeing her warningly. She nodded her head, still panting to get over the surprise attack.

"I thought we were done…." She tried to give as an excuse but En cut her.

"You were already told the rules of the Taos' fights. You shouldn't have been surprised." He told her. She looked down and nodded. Living two years with the Tao family can teach you many things but she still opposed the thought that spirits are servants or humans being evil. Yes, most humans were evil but for some reason she still had faith in them. The Taos seemed to give up on persuading her after a while, seeing as she had her own character and independent personality.

Moon smiled up happily at En, seeing as this was the most successful training she ever had, only to catch him as he collapsed from blood loss. She was getting quite dizzy herself, his weight wasn't helping much either, a few moments after and she collapsed to the ground as well.

"Get them to their rooms." Ran commanded the four Jiang Shi standing behind her. She was watching the whole time from behind this iron door, opening it just enough for one eye to peek in. The four zombies obeyed and walked into the humongous room. It was made out of strong bricks, no one bothered painting it or doing any fancy stuff because it's basically a hard training area, the walls had many cracks on it, big or small, all the cause of battles and the impacts of attacks. Ran kept the door in a nearly closed position. What she was seeing and what was going on in there was not to be known by anyone. Her face was impassive and her eyes were following the Jiang Shi's movements until she heard the faint, small sounds and voices of her children as they returned from their training. Suddenly she lost all her cool, her hands clumsily and nervously searched for the doorknob before her children could see anything.

"Hi mom!" They both exclaimed simultaneously with wide, happy grins. Ran finally slammed the door shut, realizing that the four zombies were inches away from it. Keeping a zombie away from his mission or blocking it with an obstacle isn't a very good thing to do. She took a couple of fast, deep breaths and exhaled then swiftly turned around to face her children with an equally wide smile.

"Why hello kids! I didn't expect you to finish so soon today." She tried to sound normal and hide her anxiety. The two kids stared at her for a moment, they knew their mother would never act so nervous, it was obvious but it didn't seem to make a difference to them.

"Ahaha, we're getting better and better everyday! Just wait and watch me as I train the next time mom!" Jun told her excitedly. Ren on the other hand leaned to the left, trying to see what his mother was hiding. The iron door seemed to hold no importance, it was where he occasionally trained with his father but why would his mother hide it like that this time? He was always the curious and attentive one.

"Ren, honey, is there something wrong?" Ran asked a little nervously. Ren looked at her and thought for a moment.

"Is dad in there?" He asked pointing at the door behind his mother.

"Um, yes dear." She answered him hesitantly.

"And Moon is in there too?" He asked again and his mother nodded.

"Why are you asking me this?" Ran asked nervously.

"They've been training together a lot lately. Can I join them?" He asked her with the best sincere face he could manage at the moment, even if he knew it wouldn't change anything. Ran smiled and shook her head.

"Daddy has some very serious work with Yue Se-san. You shouldn't interrupt them." She told him sweetly as she crouched down to his level. Ren crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"She always gets everything!" He complained.

"Now, now, Yue Se-san is getting to share the same time with your father as we all do. So there's nothing unfair here." She told him with a victorious smirk that always decided everything. Ren grunted and stomped away towards his room, Jun didn't waste any time following him and soon they were both out of sight and earshot.

Ran quickly opened the heavy door and the Jiang Shi rushed out and accomplished their mission. Ran slowly walked to her husband's room, which is also hers of course. She set out and treated all of his wounds, bandaged them and tucked him into his bed, making sure he was comfortable.

After that she went to Moon's room and saw her already awake. Moon looked up at her and smiled, Ran smiled back and gestured for Moon to follow her. Moon stood up, confused and curious, and walked behind Ran.

"No better way to relax and let go of the tension after a long and hard training than a nice hot bath just between us women, right?" Ran said cheerfully as they entered the big blue-tiled room with the steaming pool and the many mirrors, water tabs and stools. Moon blushed violently at the idea and quickly lowered her head. Sure, she used to do that with Shira sometimes but this was different! She kept biting her lips and looking around, searching her mind for a possible excuse.

"Um, I…I don't think that's a good idea, I mean…I…I…am wounded!" She announced quite happily and held her waist.

"Oh let me see…Oh come on, this is just a mere scratch!" Ran said as she saw the tiny cut. Moon's face looked worried now.

"Bu-" She was cut by Ran's carefree voice.

"No need to worry, darling! Just relax, we don't want more tension piling up, we want to get rid of it!" Somehow, she persuaded Moon into it and now they were both relaxing under the warm, soothing water after a quick bath. Moon closed her eyes and let herself be taken away by the soothing heat. It was just too relaxing and suddenly Moon was woken up by Ran's voice. She had fallen asleep already?

"Now don't get too carried away." Ran's voice was playful but its tone said: _wake up, sleepy head. _Moon blinked open her eyes a few times until she realized that she had her head leaning on Ran's shoulder and her hand was holding hers. She jerked up startled, blushing, and moved away so that there was space between them again. Though she kept her back turned slightly towards Ran. Moon gasped and jerked in surprise as soft, wet fingers started moving through her hair. She looked up at Ran, who had a smile on her face but her eyes showed sadness.

"You were young when your mother left you…that must've left a mark, huh?" Moon blinked in surprise at her and then her fingers traveled on her shoulder; feeling the ragged skin caused by the burns she had years ago. Then Ran chuckled, attracting her attention.

"Not that kind of mark." She said between giggles and then pulled Moon closer.

"I didn't mean a mark on the _outside_; these things could go away with time. What I meant was a mark in here." She said as she placed her hand on Moon's chest. Moon's fingers followed Ran's touch and rested on her chest, just as Ran broke the contact and started stroking her hair.

"You feel like something's missing in there, don't you?" Ran asked softly. Moon thought for a moment, her eyes distant and then she shook her head and smiled a wide and sincere smile.

"Not anymore. I had many people who loved me and took care of me. And very slowly, that missing space was filled. Many people took me into their lives and made me feel at home. So I can't thank you or them enough."

"I see, you are very welcome then." Ran said smiling.

* * *

"What do you mean you're leaving?" Ren demanded as Moon told him the news in the bedrooms' corridor, a few days late it seemed.

"I'll be gone in a week or so, I've been here for two years and I think it's time for me to travel again." She told him with a smile. Ren huffed, crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.

"But…but then…who'd play with me in my spare time?" Jun asked or nearly whined.

"And who'd read me those bed time stories? No one has stories as good as yours!" Ren said it in a way that seemed to tell that he blamed her, but Moon knew he is as shocked as his sister is. Moon looked into Jun's big sad, teary eyes and then saw Ren's twinkling eyes as tears threatened to form. In these two years, she managed to build such a strong bond with the two that she feels like she's their big sister, and they felt the same, it was as if Moon has always been there for them. In their birthdays, in Jun's trainings and dance sessions, she helped them with their homework, she was even there when Ren got the tattoo on his back.

"I'm really sorry but I can't stay any longer." She insisted, smiling sadly and looking apologetic.

"Tch, fine! Go away; you were never wanted in this house in the first place! Who needs you?" He yelled at her then rushed towards his room and closed the door with a loud _bang!_ Moon sighed and turned to Jun.

"Promise you'll spend all your time with us this next week?" She asked tentatively.

"Of course I promise! But I'm not sure if Ren's okay with that." Moon said smiling. Jun smiled back, the child's face brightened up again and she rushed to convince Ren of the idea. Moon stood up and watched her useless efforts from the corner of the corridor.

"They're really clinging to you. If their morale goes down when you leave and they refuse to do things properly then I'd have no one else to blame." En's voice told her and she shivered at the blunt comment. She knew he was in his huge dark room, with his giant oversoul hiding his true form.

"They have to learn to let go. I shouldn't have got so close to them." She whispered to herself, knowing he could hear her clearly.

"Maybe you're right." He said faintly and then Moon felt him going away. She walked down to the kitchen and met Ran there. They both exchanged smiles and started fixing lunch together.

"I'm very happy that my kids found a loyal friend in you. They never had that chance and I'm sure En won't give it to them any time soon." She thanked Moon as they finished setting the table.

"It was my pleasure, Miss Ran." Moon replied to her with a slight bow of her head.

* * *

"So this is it then?" Ran asked Moon a bit sadly. They were all gathered in front of the mansion's gates, saying their last words to Moon before she left.

"Yeah I guess. I'll be on my way soon." Moon replied in an equally sad tone.

"You can always stay, if you don't want to go…" Jun tried to persuade her for the last time but Moon only smiled at her apologetically and shook her head.

"I can't." She finally said, then knelt in front of Ren, who had his arms crossed over his chest, pouting and looking away angrily, he hadn't showed his face this entire week. Moon held him from his chin and forced him to look at her, he only growled in response.

"Listen Ren, I don't want to hurt your feelings, I just need to go." She tried to make him understand but he didn't show any sign of acceptance.

"Okay, tell you what? We can always meet again." She tried with a confident smile. It seemed to work because his eyes met hers with interest in them.

"How?" He grudgingly asked after a long silence.

"You keep getting stronger, train hard and never give up, enter the shaman tournament and then maybe, no, we will **surely **meet again and maybe even battle against each other!" Moon told him happily and he seemed to contemplate whether she was telling the truth or not. He finally smirked confidently and crossed his arms over his chest looking smug.

"Humph, then you better get strong fast because when we meet I'm going to beat you with one finger!" He said confidently and challengingly, pointing that one finger at her.

"Huh! Why you little snot nosed brat! We'll see about that! That goes for you too Jun." She said as she violently ruffled his hair, making it a mess. Jun blinked and nodded at her with a bright smile and then Moon stood up smiling. She glanced up at the huge En, saw his faint nod of approval and satisfied smile. She silently sighed in relief, now she had nothing to worry about.

"I made you this bag, I packed it with extra things you'd need for your journey. Take care and make sure you stay safe and well." Ran said as she handed her the cylinder like bag that was tied with thick, strong strings.

Moon thanked her and hugged her tightly. She bowed her head in respect towards both En and Chin, who nodded and smiled back. Then she knelt down for the last time and opened her arms wide.

"Don't I get a farewell hug?" She asked both Ren and Jun with a wide grin on her face. Jun smiled and ran towards her while Ren hesitated for a moment and then walked after his sister. He arrived in front of Moon just as she finished hugging Jun; she looked up at him and grinned mischievously.

"Come here you!" She said grabbing him from the middle and cuddling him like a teddy bear, ruffling his hair fondly.

"Hey I just finished tiding that!" He yelled as he struggled to get out of her muscled arms. Moon only laughed and let him go, ruffling his hair one last time and stood up. Ren huffed as he went back to putting every hair strand back in place. Moon said her goodbyes, turned around and started walking away. Then she stopped abruptly in her tracks and turned around with a mischievous smile.

"Bye bye you bigheaded, arrogant pointy head." She said as she waved her hand smiling.

"Why you! No one calls me that!" Ren yelled and ran after her but she ran faster. If she knew anything about Ren, it was that he really hated being called pointy head or anything else that's annoying. She laughed all the way as she ran out of Ren's reach until she reached the edge of the crater. That's when Ren stopped chasing her and she calmly climbed it up. She reached the top, waved her last goodbye, and walked away into the nearby forest.

* * *

She walked on for days and now she arrived at a dead forest. I t was obviously burnt down, the tree trunks were black, the branches dry and bare, the ground was covered with ashes instead of soil, and no animal, not even a bird to be seen or heard. The only sounds to be heard were the crunching of fallen branches beneath her feet, the bellowing of the strong cold breeze and the sweeping sound it made when it hit the ground and carried the ashes into the air.

The sky was a dark grey apparently full of rain clouds, ready to shed their tears. The sun's rays found no way to penetrate the thick clouds, just a bit of its glow kept the world alight.

She remembered the last two years she spent with that nice, odd family. Then she remembered Yura and wondered how he and his dad were doing. It's been so long that thinking about it made her somewhat sad. At times like these, she would always sing the song Yura used to sing to her when they were alone, so she did, the lyrics softly and quietly leaving her lips as she hummed the melody.

She finally reached the outskirts of the forest and was greeted by very strong wind that blew lots of ash from the ground and into her face. She covered her eyes with her hands and slowly let it down when the wind calmed down for the moment. She moved foreword to see what she was looking at clearly.

It seems that she had reached a cliff; she carefully looked down and saw nothing but the black unknown. The strong wind took all and any noise that could be heard. She couldn't be sure if there was a river flowing down there or not. Another strong gust of wind passed by and nearly knocked her off the edge if she hadn't crouched down. A forked path glowed in the far, dark sky and soon the sound of thunder could be heard. The storm was on its way and she needs to prepare for it, now.

Moon went back into the forest, even if the trees were dead and broken; they still formed a natural barrier for strong wind. She found a nice place to set her tent, comfortable wide space, trees standing in the wind's way and far enough so that if they break they wouldn't fall on her and crush her and strong ground to hold everything she stabs in it. She had the small camp built in no time and now she is settled inside her small tent.

The storm soon hit with a merciless shower of hard rain. Luckily, she had already built up a wooden roof above her tent and tried to put the tent in a position that would keep it away from the rain. She tried to fall asleep with the entire ruckus outside, loud thunder, harsh clapping rain, strong bellowing wind and the sound of wood cracking and crashing.

She managed to magically fall into a deep sleep. Each startling sound triggering memories from the past, memories of Yura, memories of Sarah, memories of Shira, memories of Ren and Jun. She was back on the road, alone again. But she chose that decision, no one forced her and therefore she accepts whatever comes. She slowly fell into her silent of world of dreams, dreams of the past, of happy memories, where she'd wake up to find the harsh reality. But it didn't matter now, as long as she can live these memories again and again, it didn't matter.

* * *

Moon woke up the next morning to strong light breaking through the dark fabric of her tent. She got up, zipped the tent open and peeked her head out. The weather was surprisingly sunny and bright, she got out of the tent to feel the weather, it was very nice and warm, unlike yesterday and no sign of a cloud anywhere now. The wind was a soft quiet breeze that tickled her skin and the air was fresh with the cent of wet soil.

She gathered her things and packed them inside her bags, took out half a loaf of bread to eat on the way and she set off. Today was another day of training and adventures and she wasn't going to waste any minute of it.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

Thunder: This is the final chapter, it finally finished! I'm sorry it didn't come any sooner. I hope you enjoyed this story all the way through, thank you for those who read it. Many thanks to SK-fan7 and AnimexXxGoddess for their reviews and for encouraging me. I would appreciate any sort of review.

I wrote to be continued because that's not the real end of the story, there is another story that goes on it's own path, it's called Luna and it starts with the shaman tournament right away, shaman king characters are also involved in it as well as my OCs Moon, Yura and of course Luna. The problem with my stories is that they cross over each other; Luna starts on its own then crosses over with Nataly. Um, anyway, enough with the rambling, if you want me to start with Luna then say so in your reviews or you could go and vote for the poll in my profile. If you want another story then do the same thing, choose it from my profile. I have more spare time now so I can write a bit faster than before. So I'm ready for any story you choose, it's all up to you readers.

Please Review!


	49. Ten Black Roses

Thunder: Enjoy this little tribute to my two little OCs ^-^

I don't own Shaman King.

* * *

**Ten Black Roses**

"Come on, Moon." Yura tried for the tenth time this morning. "Talk to me already." He said and then sighed exasperatedly. Moon hasn't spoken a word ever since the school incident and it was driving him insane. She was sitting on his bed, they were in Yura's bedroom, going through the same conversation they've been having for the past week.

"Do you really hate me this much that you won't talk to me anymore?" Yura yelled but tried to keep his voice down as much as he could. Then he grunted and plopped himself next to her on his bed, his hands going through his hair as he tried to think of something else.

"I never hated you." Came a soft, whispering voice. Yura's eyes opened wide and he turned to face Moon. They both stared at each other for a while but then Moon broke the stare and suddenly started crying. Yura was startled and didn't know what to do except for carefully trying to comfort her.

OOOO

Moon sat in her room, silent and motionless, eyes still a bit teary from all the crying. She'd occasionally fiddle with her hands or glance at the window, and then she'd look down on her lap again. This continued for a whole hour and Yura had enough of it. He went to the kitchen to make them something warm to eat, maybe that'd distract Moon for a while. He soon came back with two plates in his hands, one for each of them.

"Hey." He started softly, trying to engage her in a conversation but she didn't even bother looking at him, she just stared at the plate in her hands. Yura sighed; this will need a lot of work. After a long time of persuading the girl to eat, Yura finally took her softly by the hand and started leading her out of the house. Moon gave him a puzzled look but he only smiled back reassuringly.

"We're just going out for a walk." He stated as he took his and her jacket and opened the door. They started walking around in the woods that surrounded the house. The weather was nice and cool, the Sun shining bright in the blue sky, white fluffy clouds scattered around in the vast space and small leaves were starting to grow on the trees' branches, a wonderful spring day. Moon let Yura hold her hand and guide her wherever he wanted as she let her eyes wander on nature's beauty. The breeze, the smell of freshness that always surrounded the woods; it flooded her head with memories. Yura kept watching her with a smile, walking right next to her while not letting go of her hand.

They walked out of the woods and into the quiet parts of the city, a part he knew that she had never been to. Trees that were slowly growing green were planted in almost every house's garden that they passed. The birds were flying about and chirping, chirping so loud as if they were having a very important argument to solve. Moon smiled and gave a faint giggle. Yura smiled happily, relieved to see that his idea worked.

They walked further until they reached a wide garden, the grass was still brown from the winter's cold air and the lonely tree's branches were still bare, a bulbul was chirping happily as it sat on one of them, and there near the house's door was a plant with a long thin stem and three black roses stood at the top. Moon stared in awe; she had never seen a rose that was black. Yura looked at her and followed her gaze, and then he smiled.

"Do you want to see it up close?" He asked her and she turned to look at him.

"Wouldn't the owner of the house be mad? He's the only one around whose garden is surrounded by a fence." She asked him worriedly pointing at the fence.

"Nah, we'll walk slowly and we won't touch anything. We're not doing something wrong." He said confidently with an impish grin and pulled Moon towards the garden's entrance. Just then one of the house's windows opened and an old man popped his head out.

"Thtay away fom ma gaden ye ni'wi's!" He yelled out while waving his walking stick in the air.

"See, Yura? Come on, let's go." She said as she pushed him along the side path.

"But you really wanted to see it!" He complained as he pouted.

"It's just a flower, there are plenty more of it in the world." She said dismissingly and they walked on, the afternoon sun warm on their backs.

"Okay, how about we check in the flower shop over there?" He suggested pointing at a little shop when they started walking on another road. Moon followed his finger to the tiny flowers that popped their heads out for the sun light and then nodded her head with a small smile. Yura grinned triumphantly and pulled her towards it by the hand.

"Wow…" Moon breathed as they entered the small, flower-filled shop. She never saw this many colorful flowers gathered in such a small place. She let go of Yura's hand and started wandering through the tiny fields of flowers, bending down every now and then to sniff at a flower or touch the petals of another. Yura smiled at her and walked towards the shop keeper and started asking him questions. After a while…

"Seems like they don't sell black roses here." Yura said disappointedly as they walked out of the shop, scratching the back of his head with one hand while the other held Moon's hand.

"It's alright, Yura." Moon smiled at him in a thankful way. The sun was quite low in the sky now; soon they have to return to the forest.

"Hey Moon, you can go back to the house on your own right?" Yura asked as he suddenly stopped midway. Moon only blinked and gave him a confused look; along with that certain new habit of hers in which her eyes almost glare at him, as if saying _"What are you up to?"_ Yura squirmed under her gaze for a while, giving off the best innocent sheepish grin he could muster at the moment. She finally sighed and nodded her head.

"I'll wait for you there, don't be late." She said monotonously and walked ahead without a word. Yura stared at her retreating form for a while and then ran towards the other direction as fast as he could, a wide grin plastered on his face.

OOOO

When he came back to the house it was already dark outside, he went to the kitchen, hiding his simple present behind his back. He slowly peeked around the corner and was both relieved and confused to see only his dad sitting on the table, having his usual cup of coffee.

"Where's Moon?" He asked as he entered the kitchen. His father looked up from the files he was analyzing looking a bit surprised.

"I thought she was with you." He half stated, half asked. Yura instantly felt a great amount of anxiety rushing over him and he burst out of the house, ignoring his father's shouts, and ran straight to the deeper parts of the forest.

Not long after, he finally realized where Moon would be at right now and quickly dashed towards that place. Upon reaching a deserted and burned part of the forest, he saw the remains of what used to be Shira and Moon's house. He slowly approached the pile of burned wood, clouds of dust appearing wherever he stepped. Pushing aside a heavy old beam, he finally came to the deepest part of the house, which was surprisingly in better shape compared to the rest of the house.

Then he spotted Moon in the middle of the rubble, standing there in her black outfit, almost fading into the night's darkness. She was still and silent, it seemed as though she her eyes were fixed at something, though he couldn't tell because her back was turned to him. He slowly approached her, holding the present behind his back and hoping that all the running didn't ruin all of it. He slowly looked over her shoulder to see what she was doing.

"Look what I found, Yura." She said with a small smile on her face as she showed him a half burned picture in her hand, the picture showed all three of them when they were still kids, each holding an ice-cream cone, they were all smiling.

Yura smiled as Moon flipped through the half burned album, they both saw the pictures that they had taken long ago. Each of them was drifting further into their memories, reliving moments in their lives that they had nearly forgotten. Moon reached the last page of the album, there seemed to be some remains of a paper scrap. She carefully pulled out the scrap of paper that nearly crumbled in her hands. Reading what it said, she chuckled and then tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Yura reached for the paper, still standing behind Moon, and read what it said.

_"May our happy memories live on forever, just like our happy little family."_

_ -Shira_

Yura smiled sadly at the fading letters. He turned his head slightly to see Moon who was smiling a similar sad smile. After a few moments of silence, Yura moved to kiss her softly on the cheek, startling her out of her thoughts with a blush. She looked at him with surprise but he only smiled at her, his hand moving to brush away her tears. Then he turned her around so that she'd face him.

He stood looking at the ground, a slight blush covering his face. Moon stared at him confused. Then he produced a bouquet from behind his back, a bouquet of black roses. Moon stared at the bouquet that was offered to her, blushing as well. Then she slowly took the offered bouquet with a smile, taking a deep breath, smelling the majestic scent of the rose. The Queen of the Night, a nickname she once heard for the Black Rose.

"Ten black roses…" She said as she looked at Yura. "I thought they didn't sell any around here."

"Well, I had some luck and got some help too." He said grinning sheepishly, still blushing.

"Thanks." Moon smiled at him with a blush. Then quickly moved to hug Yura, taking him with surprise but then he hugged her back. They stayed like this for a while, then Yura lifted Moon's head from her chin, they stared into each other's eyes. Yura smiled softly and slightly tilted his head, blushing deeper. They both moved closer, until their parted lips met. After a few moments they parted in the need for air.

"We should go back home now." Yura suggested.

"Yeah." Moon agreed and they both walked back, still holding hands.

OOOO

The sound of the door clicking open made Adam get up and see who it was. Yura came in, followed by Moon, they were still holding hands and they were both still blushing with a small smile on each one's face. An impish grin was instantly plastered on Adam's face.

"Where have you been all alone this late at night?" He asked cheekily and they blushed even more.

"D-dad! What do you mean by that?" Yura yelled out offended, Moon hid behind him, and blushed a deep red but couldn't help a grin on her face.

"Ooh, nothing…just, did something happen between the two of you?" He clarified his question a little more.

"M-Mr. Arisawa!" Moon shouted, looking at him as if he was mad, which only made his grin even wider.

"We just went for a walk dad! That's all!" Yura said as a final word, his face returning to normal colors and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Really? And what's that bouquet of flowers supposed to be?" He pointed at the bouquet in Moon's hand, who instantly hid it behind her back.

"It's just a present…" Yura answered blushing slightly. His father gave him the raised eyebrow look and Yura sighed exasperatedly.

"We kissed, are you happy now?" Yura said in defeat, his arms falling to his sides helplessly.

"Yup!" He said triumphantly and walked back into the kitchen, smiling happily.

"Yura!" Moon shouted, blushing.

"What? You know dad, he wouldn't leave it until he finds out." He explained but Moon kept glaring at him, punched him lightly in the arm then stomped up towards her bedroom. Yura sweat dropped.

"Great." He mumbled to himself and walked into the kitchen.

OOOO

The next morning, Yura entered the kitchen, still sleepy. As he sat on the table he saw a vase that was set in the middle, ten black roses neatly placed inside it and tied together in a bunch by a white ribbon. Yura looked at it surprised and then just smiled.

* * *

Thunder: A tribute to my favorite two OCs. I thought I'd simply write it as a bonus chapter. Those who read my story Nataly might remember me saying in one of my comments that I had cut and left out many scenes because I thought them too depressing. Well, I still do, but now I have the heart to write it at least, not to mention that I changed A LOT of things so that it'd be more bearable….for me at least. Anyway, this fic is basically a mixture of events and flashbacks. The events start a few days after the school massacre and before Moon's training with Ronkako.

Please Review!


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